The Prodigal Three
by Sillybomber
Summary: A five year old Naruto can only look on as the Kyūbi runs rampant and despite the best efforts of Konoha's most powerful Shinobi it looked as if their attempts to remove the threat would end in failure. The appearance of a mysterious child, however, would allow them to seal the creature into Naruto's newborn brother. AU - Minato/ Kushina survive, powerful Naruto, powerful OC
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

This work is inspired by 'The Prodigal Namikaze' by SoulReaperCrewe and IceQueen1717. If you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend it even though it isn't finished, you can find it in my favourites. If you have read it, you'll see the odd similarity early on.

The Mysterious Boy

* * *

The evening had begun like any other, quiet and tranquil. For many in Konohagakure life had been quiet ever since the third Shinobi world war had ended a few years prior. It was October 10th and tonight would be a night that would live in infamy and tragedy. The civilians and Shinobi could only look on in horror as a monstrosity appeared out of nowhere and began to devastate their home. A monstrosity with nine tails.

The evacuations had begun immediately, the elderly and young rushed to the shelters. A great coloured barrier prevented the creature from encroaching further into the village. The frustration evident on the faces of a group of recently promoted Jōnin. Kurenai Yūhi, Maito Gai, Asuma Sarutobi and Kakashi Hatake could only express their frustration at not being able to help. They'd been ordered to remain outside the barrier by the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He had also charged them with the safe-keeping of a young boy.

Stood in front of Kurenai with her arms wrapped protectively around him was a young blonde haired boy still in his night clothes. He was the first born child and son of the Yondaime Hokage, his name was Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. And just like the young Jōnin around him, he too was anxious. He had yet to see either of his parents and he was scared. It wasn't supposed to be like this, his fifth birthday was weeks away and he would soon have a little brother or sister to dote over but now there was a monster destroying everything it could. He couldn't hold his emotions back any longer as he began to cry.

Hearing the quiet sobs from the boy in her arms she held him closer. "Don't worry Naruto-chan, you're Tou-san and Kaa-chan will be fine," Kurenai reassured him, pushing down the very real fear and anxiety she herself was feeling.

Both of her parents were on the other side of the barrier too. Looking around, her eyes fell on a boy perhaps 12-13 years old, he too was crying. Another Jōnin had brought him here just before the barrier had gone up. She didn't know who he was but she couldn't miss the prominent horizontal scar he had across the bridge of his nose.

Another deafening roar yanked her attention back to the other side of the barrier.

* * *

Minato was having a terrible night, it was supposed to have been a happy one. His wife had gone into labour, they were both beside themselves with joy at welcoming a second child into their young family. Then everything had started to go downhill.

A mysterious figure with a mask that only revealed a single eye. He'd forced Minato to focus all his attention on getting his new-born son Rezano to safety, he was gone for just a few moments but it was long enough. By the time Minato had returned the figure had freed the Nine-tailed Fox.

And although he'd been able to wrest control of the Kyūbi away from the unknown figure it had meant the demon had wrought a terrible toll on the village.

The man with the mask had since disappeared leaving the blonde haired Hokage to combat the Fox alone. Thankfully he wasn't alone for long as he was reinforced by Hiruzen Sarutobi and two of his students Tsunade Senju and Jiraiya. Tsunade was in the village to help deliver Rezano just as she had for Naruto. And it was just sheer good fortune that Jiraiya happened to be in the village at the time.

And despite having just given birth and just having had the Nine tails drawn out of her Kushina was still standing and able to assist displaying the stamina only an Uzumaki possessed.

"Minato, I hope you have a plan," Hiruzen said landing next to the young man he'd picked to replace him as leader of Konoha, Kushina quickly appearing next to them both, her breathing laboured. "We have to seal it again, but we can't seal it within Kushina again, I fear it would kill her. Which leaves only one option," he finished sombrely.

He quickly vanished in a flash of yellow light before reappearing again with a small bundle in his arms, only a small face visible. Handing Rezano over to Hiruzen, "I've already placed one of my Kunai on the plateau behind the Hokage monument. Get everybody else there. I'll ensure our unwelcome guest is present."

With that, he shot towards the orange demon currently being distracted by Tsunade and Jiraiya. Appearing behind the foxes head they both quickly vanished. Hiruzen quickly brought the two Sannin up to speed. Tsunade carrying Kushina whilst also pouring chakra into her, her adamantine chains would be crucial in restraining the beast.

The four arrived on the plateau to find Minato dodging the foxes claws and tails, buying time. With the foxes back to them Kushina unleashed her adamantine chains across the demon's body driving it into the ground. Both Jiraiya and Tsunade bit into their thumbs before slamming their hands into the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu" (Summoning Technique) from the great clouds of smoke appeared a massive toad and a slug. The great toad Gamabunta immediately threw himself on top of the Kyūbi aiming to keep it pinned to the ground.

"Katsuyu, place apart of yourself on Kushina, I'll channel my chakra into her through you. We need to maintain those chains" Tsunade ordered, the black lines across her face signifying she'd released her Sōzō Saisei (Creation Rebirth). "Hai, Tsunade-sama," the great slug replied, a small part of her breaking away and headed towards the red-haired woman while the rest moved to help restrain the fox further.

Minato reappeared next to Hiruzen, taking his son into his arms while performing a series of hand seals, a small altar appearing next to him that he placed Rezano on top of. The fox tried to roar again but a large black pole in Hiruzen's hands came down hard atop the foxes head, its jaws slammed shut with a crack. With the fox restrained, Kushina, Hiruzen, Tsunade and Jiraiya each stood at 90° angles from one another forming a square around the fox. Realising their intentions to seal it away again the foxes thrashing only increased, its claws gouging chunks out of the ground.

The four now in position began weaving hand seals and a great net emerged above them as all four shouted " **Kekkai Shihō Fūjin** " (Four-Corner Sealing Barrier), together they began lowering it. Minato himself was still stood next to the altar, ready to perform the Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style) the moment the net enclosed their orange foe.

The net got lower and lower but Minato was concerned, Kushina was fading fast. Having to maintain her chains and her corner of the seal was draining her chakra faster than Tsunade could replace it. With the chains weakening the fox began making headway in its desperate attempts to be free. It seemed like it would be only moments before Kushina's chains failed, the net now so close to entrapping the fox fully.

But then the fox stops thrashing, it was still. Utterly baffled, Minato followed its gaze and not ten feet from the foxes maw was a child. The child didn't look any older than Naruto Minato thought, he too was perplexed by the young boy's sudden appearance. But the child showed no fear as he stared down the most powerful of the Bijū. Sensing their opportunity Kushina withdrew her chakra chains as the net enclosed around the orange-furred creature as each of the four of them drove a Kunai into the ground completing the seal.

The next step now his responsibility as Minato spoke, " **Hakke no Fūin Shiki** ". With his words, the fox quickly lost its physical form as it became a cloud of chakra that streamed into Rezano's stomach. Soon the seal was complete. The Uzumaki swirl with eight trigrams around it displayed on the child. "I'm sorry Rezano," he uttered as Kushina appeared by his side, picking up her child and holding him close. She was on the brink of collapse with almost no chakra left.

"Who's the kid?" Jiraiya asked pointing to the small boy that had stunned the Kyūbi. "I haven't the faintest idea Sensei, he just appeared and stared down the Kyūbi" Minato replied as Hiruzen knelt down in front of the mysterious child.

"And who might you be?" the elder Sarutobi asked. "Tri [ **1** ]," the child replied neutrally. "Where are your parents Tri?"  
"I have none."  
"Are you from the village?"  
"I..I don't know." The confused look on the child's face had grown with each question. "Well Tri, why don't you come with us and we'll see if we can find your family," Hiruzen reassured him, he assumed the child was just confused and shocked by the night's events.

Taking the child's hand, he led him towards the others who themselves were preparing to get Kushina and Rezano to the hospital.

* * *

Konoha Hospital

Kushina was laying a hospital bed with Rezano in her arms. "She's utterly exhausted but bar the bumps and bruises, she's fine. Her Uzumaki heritage will see to her recovery." Tsunade declared much the assembled groups relief, having given Kushina a once over. "Thank you Tsunade," Minato said, his voice relieved. He had hiraishined all of them to the hospital, upon their arrival he'd broken the news to Hiruzen that he'd been unable to save his wife Biwako. Subsequently, he'd gone to find his son Asuma and Jiraiya had gone to retrieve Naruto.

Minato was looking at the young boy sat on another hospital bed. The child had half black, half red hair that reached down to his shoulder blades and was tied back in a manner similar to a Hyūga. He had a single red coloured bang framing the right-hand side of his face and a black bang on the left. His eyes were a deep green emerald surrounded by Onyx, he wore a simple black shirt and black pants with nothing on his feet.

"What shall we do with you, child," Minato mused. Tsunade appeared next to him. "I can take a blood sample to trace his family," the blonde Sannin suggested, Minato nodded in agreement. Tsunade knelt down in front of him, "I'm going to take a blood sample from you so we can find out who your family are, ok?"

"I understand," he acknowledged without a flicker of emotion.

Minato couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something different about the boy in front of him. Tsunade pushed a syringe into Tri's forearm, just below the elbow. The child didn't flinch in the slightest as the needlepoint broke through the skin. Pulling back her thumb Tsunade drew blood into the glass vial. Withdrawing the Syringe she replacing it with a piece of cotton wool, moving Tri's hand over to hold the wool in place while the small hole the needle made coagulated.

With her sample in hand, she left the room, heading for the hospital's personnel and birth records. The hospital was packed, dealing with the hundreds of injured, the dead were still being recovered and likely would be for days. Early estimates had put the total casualty count at several hundred, Shinobi and Civilian. Tsunade weaved her way through packed corridors, thankfully, she didn't have far to go before she reached her destination.

Opening the door to an empty room, she grabbed an identification scroll, opened it and dripped a few drops of blood onto it, revealing all the information the records had on the child called Tri. "What?" she said in confusion.

* * *

Naruto rushed down the hospital hallway, yanking the door open. "Kaa-chan? Tou-san?" he said, desperately searching for his parents. Jiraiya had already reassured him they were both ok but Naruto had to see them with his own eyes. The door now open he could see his Tou-san stood next to the bed his Kaa-chan was asleep on. He rushed towards his father who opened his arms picking his son up. "Don't worry Naruto-chan, your Kaa-chan will be fine, she's just really tired, so you need to be quiet so you don't wake her, okay?" Minato reassured his son. Naruto nodded in agreement, "Okay Tou-san," he replied as his eyes were drawn towards the small face poking out of a blanket in Kushina's arms.

"Naruto-chan, meet your brother Rezano." Gently placing his son down on the bed next to the two sleeping figures. Naruto placed a finger on his new brother's cheek, gently stroking it. "Hi Rezano-chan, I'm your Nii-chan," he said lovingly getting smiles from everyone in the room. He could see the blonde hairs on his head just like him and Tou-san, his eyes were a clear blue unlike his and Kaa-chan's violet, he also noticed the whisker-like marks on both cheeks.

"Is my Naru-chan introducing himself to my Rea-chan?" a weak female voice whispered. Naruto looked up from his brother to see his mother's eyes open lovingly looking over her two children's first interaction. "Kaa-chan!" he squeaked, just about remembering to be quiet lest he woke his new brother as he quickly wrapped his arms around his mother.

"I was so scared Kaa-chan," Naruto said into her neck, his emotions getting the better of him. "I know Naru-chan, but its ok." Naruto sat up again wiping away the stray tears, now with a determined look in his eyes. "I'll never let anyone hurt you again Kaa-chan, I'm going to become a strong Shinobi like Tou-san," he declared. Kushina smiled at her son, "I know you will Naru-chan."  
Kushina's eyes were quickly drawn to the boy sat on the bed opposite, his chin supported by his hands as he stared at the floor.

"Minato, who is the child?" Kushina asked her husband, causing Naruto to spin around bringing the black and red haired child into view. "We don't know, all we do know is that his name is Tri, we found him on the plateau, he just appeared out of nowhere in front of the Kyūbi. Tsunade's currently looking through the records to find out who his family are." Minato explained.

"Tri," Kushina gently called, waking the boy from his daze as he looked over at her. Lifting an arm invitingly, "Can you come here for me please?" she asked. Without a word, Tri slipped down from the bed and walked over to her side. She looked deep into his Onyx and Emerald eyes, a smile appearing on her face, she felt a connection with this mysterious child.

The door opened again as Tsunade returned, a large scroll in his hand. "Were you able to find anything on the Gaki?" Jiraiya asked, earning him a glare from Tri, the debut of any emotion the child had displayed.

"Well, he doesn't like you does he Jiraiya," Tsunade noted. "As for who he is, I have no idea, he has no relatives on record. His blood did, however, reveal him to be an…"

"Uzumaki," Kushina said interrupting the Sannin. A Look of surprise spread across Tsunade's face, "Th..that's right, how did you know?" she asked, Kushina only smiled. "I just knew, the moment I looked into his eyes I knew he was an Uzumaki."

"The descendant of a survivor from Uzushiogakure?" Kakashi suggested. "Possibly, the remnants of the Uzumaki clan were scattered to the wind after Uzushiogakure fell," Tsunade replied. "It doesn't, however, explain the rest of his ancestry." Drawing more intrigued looks from across the room she turned the scroll around so they could see while she spoke. "He has Uchiha blood in him as well."

This revelation stunned the room, the Uchiha clan didn't let any of its descendants outside of the clan and breeding with others from outside of the clan was very rare. Terrified of the possibility of the Sharingan serving another. "That would explain the Onyx Sclera of his eyes and the black half of his hair. The red hair lends further credence to his Uzumaki ancestry too." Kakashi mused, looking closely at the child's facial features.

"Does this mean he could manifest the Sharingan?" Shizune wondered out loud. Tsunade shook her head, "No, I don't think so, whoever his Uchiha ancestor was, it was several generations ago."

"It nevertheless leaves us with the decision of what to do with him if we can't find any family," Minato added. "He stays with us," Kushina said softly taking one of Tri's hands in one of her own.

"Don't bother, put him in one of the villages orphanages, your attention should be on your actual children, especially after tonight," Jiraiya said, dismissing Kushina's declaration which earned him another glare, this time from the child and Kushina. "Thank you for your input Jiraiya," Kushina replied, "Now, Shut up," she bluntly finished.  
Turning to her husband, "He stays with us Minato," she repeated. "Would we be able to split enough time between the three? We had trouble figuring out whether we would for two," He asked. "I can babysit both if need be," Shizune spoke up. She had already agreed to babysit Naruto when needed following the birth of Minato and Kushina's second child so her circumstances wouldn't change that much.

Minato mulled on the issue, 'This child intrigues me and I can't figure out why but..'. "Is this what you really want Kushina?" Minato asked, receiving a firm nod. "There's something about this child that calls to me, I don't know what. But he is the reason we all walked away tonight and since it seems he has no family, then by kami, I'll give him one."

"Tri, are you happy with this?" he asked the boy who still held Kushina's hand, this time he received a slow series of nods. "All right then," Minato said with an air of finality in his voice.

* * *

Despite giving birth, despite having a Bijuu drawn out of her, Kushina was able to go home the following evening, she was still exhausted but other than that was absolutely fine, the shallow cuts and bruises she'd accrued had already healed. She wasn't the only one who was tired. Naruto refused to go to sleep while his Kaa-chan was in the hospital, Minato had multiple shadow clones out in the village counting the cost. Tri had just stared off into space, barely moving a muscle. Rezano was perhaps the only one not ready to drop.

Minato opened the door to let everyone in. When he'd last shut this door 24 hours ago, it had been him, Kushina and Naruto that had left. Now on their return, there were five, not counting Shizune who'd very kindly offered to carry a dead on his feet Tri while Minato carried Naruto.

Everyone had just managed to make their way into the dining room when one of Minato's clones returned. He had dispatched it to get food since none of them was in a position, never mind the mood to actually cook anything. The clone deposited the food on the table, "Could you find out some clothes that will fit Tri," the original asked.

The meal that followed was one of the quietest the household had known. Barely a word was spoken before they all made their way to their beds. They put Naruto to bed first then put Rezano in his cot in the master bedroom. Finally, Kushina guided Tri to one of their spare bedrooms, thankfully their house had five bedrooms, so they weren't hurting for space. Minato's clone had found out some of the clothes that Naruto didn't often wear, if at all.

Opening the door to the plain room, furnished only with a bed, a closet, a small desk and set of drawers. Kushina sat him down on the edge of the bed before sitting next to him. Placing an arm around his shoulders, "This will be your room from now on okay?" She got a nod in reply. "You'll have to make do with some of Naruto's spare clothes for a few days until we get you some of your own, okay?" Another nod.

Kushina could see his face was beginning to contort, emotion desperately seeking release, he also started to shake. She held him closer before speaking softly into his ear. "I want you to get used to this room. Because I intend to keep you here with us. So from now on, I want you to think of me as your Kaa-chan, okay?"

That proved to be the breaking point as the emotionless mask shattered, the tears soon streaming down his face. It was through the tears she heard the first words he'd say to her, "Thank you... Kaa-chan" Barely more than a whisper and choked out through sobs, but she heard him all the same.

It took her nearly half an hour to bring his crying to an end. At the end of which he'd fallen asleep, with what energy she had left Kushina managed to get him onto the bed. She slowly crept out of the room and closed the door.

* * *

"And with your signatures added, it's official," Shizune cheered, double checking the document in her hands. Minato smiled, one hand on Naruto's head while he held Rezano in the other arm while Kushina was on the brink of bouncing off the walls in excitement as she wrapped Tri in a bear hug.

It had been nearly three months since the Kyūbi incident, most of the repairs to the village had been completed. It had been hectic in the Uzumaki Namikaze household. The arrival of a new-born and the taking in a third had proved exhausting for Minato and Kushina, but they'd loved it. They loved their two sons deeply but they had room for more. They had come to love having Tri with them. But no one had come forward to claim him.

Tri himself was a quandary, a polite and kind-hearted boy. It had taken a while to get him to emerge from his shell, but as the weeks went by he'd smiled often and spoke more. They'd discovered his intelligence, his extremely courteous temperament, his love for Ramen, he was an Uzumaki after all.

He and Naruto interacted as if they'd known each other for years, Naruto had treated him as if he were a brother.

And with the paperwork now signed, he was exactly that. Tri's full adoption was completed, it wasn't even a decision that had to think hard on. Naruto loved the prospect of another brother, Minato and Kushina had already come to regard him as a son in all but name. And now he would take the name that rightfully his. He was now Uzumaki Tri, the son of the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.

* * *

End Chapter

 **[1] - Tri's name is pronounced as 'Tree'.**

 **And for those of you wondering, I've conveniently ignored that Jinchūriki's die when their Bijū is extracted as well as remove Minato's splitting of the Kyūbi into it's Yin and Yang halves through the Shiki Fūjin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal) and instead seal the entire Kyūbi into Rezano.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Taking the first step

* * *

"There you two are, I've been trying to track you two down for nearly an hour. We've already had the discussion about how you're not supposed to just vanish like that." Shizune half-heartedly scolded her two charges.

It was one of the mornings where she watched over Tri and Naruto. She'd been doing it pretty much ever since Tri started living with the Hokage family, she had offered after all. It had been a few weeks since Tri's formal adoption and she'd stopped by the Uzumaki Namikaze household as usual. It was only after a brief chat with Kushina that she'd discovered they had both vanished.

She'd eventually tracked them down to a nearby park where they were sitting on the grass under the shade of a tree, both had a book in their hands. "Sorry Shizune-nee-chan and hi Ton-ton," Naruto replied scratching the back of his head with a wide grin on his face, the small pig in her arms oinking in reply. "We were never really alone Shizune-nii chan," Tri said, never looking up from his book but with an arm raised pointing towards the top of a building across the park behind her. Shizune followed the trajectory of his arm and sure enough, she could just make out a figure in the shadows. A figure with an animal facemask.

"How did you know the ANBU was there?" She inquired, again he didn't look up from the book, all she got was a shrug of the shoulders. "I'd tell you not to disappear on me again like that but I'm thinking it won't make any difference," she said more to herself than either boy.

Sighing as she sat down in front of them. "What are you both reading?" she inquired. Naruto answered by lifting up his book to show Shizune the name. "An introduction to Chakra. I see. Your parents said you'd begun to take an interest. How are you getting on?" she said, inquiring as to their progress. Her question brought a look of frustration on Naruto's face. "I don't understand some of the words," the blonde admitted. "And you Tri-kun?"

"I'm good Shizune-nii chan," he replied lifting his copy of the book showing her he was well into the book.

"Okay then, if it's okay with you, I'll help Naruto," she said shuffling across behind Naruto as Tri nodded. Lifting him into her lap she began helping him. Any words he couldn't read, she'd teach him to say. Any words he didn't understand, she'd explain.

Ton-ton meanwhile settled down against Tri's leg. As the three read families came and went in the park, others walking by going about their days.

She guided him through the pages, explaining what chakra was, its purpose and how a shinobi utilised it. She also taught him some of the simpler hand seals, again explaining their purpose. And the young boy had quickly understood most of what she taught him, she concluded that the best ways of teaching Naruto were through verbal, physical and social means. She already knew that Naruto could get frustrated if he didn't understand something, having someone there to explain things in a different way was of great benefit to him.

And that's how it continued for the next hour or so before Tri closed the book having finished, "Done," he quietly said to himself.

Shizune looked up to see Tri practising hand seals. Ram, Dog, Monkey, Hare, Horse, Bird, Dragon, Tiger, Snake, Boar, Rat and Ox. She was astounded to see that he'd already learnt all twelve including the correct hand movements and positions. The slightest of movements on top the building opposite told Shizune that Tri had also piqued the interest of the ANBU assigned to watch over the boys. "Tri, how long have you been practising hand seals for?"  
"I've only just started Shizune-nii chan," he answered. "And you already know all twelve?"  
"Yes. The book talks about a few more specialist hand seals and makes a vague reference to one-handed seals. But it doesn't show them."  
"You don't need to worry about one-handed seals Tri-kun, there are very few Jōnin who can perform them."

"Ok Shizune-nii chan," Tri replied before he took a deep breath and forming the Ram seal. "Tri, are you sure you're ready to try that?" Shizune asked. "Yes, Shizune-nii chan. It's the only thing this book has left to teach me."  
"Then explain to me and Naruto what chakra is," Shizune asked, wanting to test his retentive skills. Still sat in his meditative pose with the Ram seal still formed in his hands he began to speak.

"Chakra is created through the mixture of Spiritual and physical energy. It is the foundation of all Jutsu regardless of field. A shinobi can through practice learn to manipulate their chakra through their chakra circulatory system. Furthermore, the human body has 361 chakra points, it is to these points that a Shinobi can focus their chakra." Shizune was surprised, he'd explained it superbly, wanting to pry further, "Superb, now explain what hand seals are and their purpose."

"Hand seals are a fundamental element of all schools of Jutsu except Taijutsu. They allow a Shinobi to focus their chakra in the correct quantities to successfully execute a technique. This ultimately is their purpose, a shinobi uses hand seals to help manipulate their chakra in the manner they require, the more advanced the technique the more hand seals tend to be required," he explained. Shizune could only shake her head whilst smiling. ' _His ability to assimilate and utilise what he's only just learnt is impressive_ '.

"Very good Tri-kun, Naruto-chan sit like Tri-kun is and form the Ram seal like this," she said showing him the hand placement. After tweaking his thumb placement slightly he was ready. "Okay you two, since I and Naruto-kun have just finished covering chakra and hand seals in the book and you've just explained it to me. We're going to try and awaken your chakra. Keep in mind it may take you a few tries to find it. First, watch me," she finished as she too assumed the meditative pose.

Both boys watched as Shizune slowly drew out her chakra, they could both feel it radiating from her before she ceased. "Did you both feel it?" she asked, receiving two nods.

"Okay, now you try. Close your eyes and look deep inside yourselves. You're looking for a warm sensation, it's normally the pit of your stomach. If you can feel it, focus on it and try slowly drawing on it, pull it to the surface. They sat there in silence for a few minutes then she felt a chakra flow brush against her, steadily it grew stronger, plateauing before receding. Naruto had found his first, he opened his eyes again, a wide grin on his face. "I did it Shizune-nee-chan! He cheerfully exclaimed. Shizune took note of the chakra Naruto had generated, it was more than she had expected.

"Well done Naruto-chan. Tri-kun, how are you doing?" she inquired of the quiet boy with bi-coloured hair. "Okay Shizune-nii chan, I don't think it's in the pit of my stomach so I'm looking elsewhere," he replied, his pose not budging. A few seconds of silence passed before he quietly spoke again, "Ah, I think I found it." He slowly began to pull.

The ANBU on the roof was really paying attention now, first Naruto had awoken his chakra at the first attempt and now she was waiting to see if Tri would do the same. The ANBU herself thought back to when she'd first awoken her chakra, it had taken nearly an hour to find and draw it out. Yet it had taken the young blonde boy less than five minutes. She'd also noticed the amount of chakra Naruto displayed.

Then the wave hit her.

It was somewhat brief, lasting barely a few seconds but the ANBU and Shizune both were astonished, the chakra simply poured out of Tri. It had been enough to startle Ton-ton, the micro pig practically jumping into Naruto's lap. Both watching ninjas were dumbfounded. 'Five-year-olds shouldn't be able to do that' both thought as Tri opened his eyes, a rare wide smile on his face.

"How was that Shizune-nii chan?" It took the medic-nin a few seconds to actually manage a response. "Very good Tri-kun. I'm amazed both of you achieved this so quickly. And good timing too," she said looking at the sun, already part way through setting. "It's time to get you two home." She declared standing up and brushing the dust off of her clothes. Her two charges quickly doing the same. Ton-ton jumping into Naruto's arms, briefly nuzzling the boy's neck. "Ah!" Naruto exclaimed, "Ton-ton, that tickles!"

They left the park, making their through the many streets of Konoha, their ANBU guard silently going from building top to building top. It was still relatively busy as people finished work or school for the day, all heading for their next destinations. They were nearing the street the two boys lived on when they heard a female voice call out. "Shizune-chan." Turning towards the voice Shizune spotted a woman slowly walking towards her, a young girl, a toddler next to her.

The woman wore a white Qipao dress with red circular patterns across the bottom. She was fair skinned and had shoulder length blonde hair with a single large bang that fell down between her green eyes. The little girl wore a red Qipao dress, with a white circular pattern she shared her mother's green eyes but instead of blonde, her hair was pink.

"Mebuki-san," Shizune greeted her old work colleague. Haruno Mebuki used to work alongside Shizune at the hospital as a nurse, she'd taken an extended leave of absence following the birth of her daughter. The two friends shared a brief hug. "Babysitting are we, Shizune-san?" Mebuki asked looking at the two boys at her side. "Yep, Mebuki meet Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto and Uzumaki Tri," Shizune replied point at each of the boys in turn.

"And this must be Sakura," Shizune waved at the little girl, getting a little wave in reply. "Yep," Mebuki said with pride in her voice, "Three already, you'll have to forgive her, she's still a little shy," the blonde woman added, her daughter slightly hidden behind her leg. Sakura looked at each of the three strangers, first the woman who gave her a gentle smile, then the blonde boy who gave her a wide grin. And finally, the black and red haired boy who with a slight smile gave her a short wave, getting a diminutive wave in return.

* * *

Rushing up the front garden path, barely taking the time to open the door properly before he was in the hall. He less took his sandals off, rather kicked them off at the wall. He was hopping around the hallway trying to get the second one off when Tri and Shizune entered.

"Kaa-chan!"  
"Dining Room, Naru-chan." Barging through the door, "Kaa-chan! I awoke my chakra!" the blonde loudly exclaimed. Kushina's eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she smiled, put her hands on her hips and lent forward, "Oh, is that right?" she asked, giving him a half-serious glare. "Yeah, me and Tri did it!"

"Both of you huh, well Shizune, am I hearing the truth?"  
"Hai, both managed it and very quickly." Kushina looked at her two eldest, she walked over to a cabinet and pulled two books out of a draw. "Well if you've finished the first book, then you'll be needing these." She handed them both a book called 'The basics of Chakra control'. "But it can wait till tomorrow. Now both of you clean up before dinner," she ordered, both did as they were asked and rushed off.

After they were both out of earshot Kushina turned to Shizune. "How did they do?"

"Naruto needed help with words he either couldn't read or didn't understand. Tri breezed through it without issue, and his ability to recall information is incredible. Naruto was able to awaken his first and he seems to have large chakra coils, the standard for an Uzumaki. Tri is the oddity, he took a little longer to awaken his but when he did..." she trailed off towards the end.

"What happened when he awoke his chakra?"

"It flooded out of him, I'd have to check with Tsunade-sama to be sure but I think his chakra reserves better resemble that of an adult, not a five-year-old. In addition, he looked unaffected afterwards, not a hint of fatigue."

"If that's the case then his chakra control might be an issue," Kushina added. "I'm not so sure it will Kushina-sama, I believe his calmness streak will be of great benefit. After Naruto awoke his chakra and Tri couldn't, there was no frustration, little emotion at all in fact. That and he retains what he learns like a sponge retains water."

Kushina thought a moment, "I'll inform Minato, can you keep me up to date on their progress?"  
"Hai, Kushina-sama."  
"Thank you, Shizune. Now, would you like to stay for dinner?"

* * *

A week had passed since that day in the park. In the days that followed Shizune had spoken to both Kushina and Minato about their son's success in awakening their chakra. From there the two had been introduced to simple chakra exercises. From channelling their chakra at will to balancing things on their fingers using chakra alone.

They'd started with light objects, slips of paper and leafs. It had been a difficult first day or two. Naruto had managed to complete the task first. Tri seemed to instead push the paper away from his finger instead of hold it. He displayed his calm and collected temperament in the face of these frustrations. Hiruzen's suggestion to test Tri to discover how large his chakra reserves were allowed them to discover the issue.

Shizune had taken Tri to see Tsunade a few days earlier and her suspicions were quickly confirmed, at five years old Tri had the chakra reserves of a highly developed Chūnin. One of the rules of chakra was 'The more chakra a Shinobi has, the harder it is to control it'. As a result, the fledgeling training regimes of the boys differed slightly. Tri's included more chakra control than Naruto's.

Minato and Kushina had both taken a personal role in their son's training when available. Introducing them to kunai and shuriken and much to Naruto's chagrin, the mathematical theories behind their use.

It was early afternoon and Tri was at home training while Shizune had taken Naruto to see Tsunade for his chakra medical [ **1** ].

"Tou-san?" Minato heard from behind him, turning his head he saw Tri poking his head around the door. "Tri-chan," he replied greeting his son. Tri quietly entered the room, shutting the door behind him before sitting down next to him. "What can I do for you Tri-chan?" he asked. He assumed that his son had finished yet another book on chakra control techniques and was looking for another. But Tri didn't reply, seeing what had his attention he noticed Tri was staring at what he himself had been doing.

Minato had some free time for the first time since October 10th so he'd decided to scrub off some of the rust from his Fūinjutsu. "Tou-san, what is this?" the child asked, utterly captivated. "I'm practising my Fūinjutsu Tri-chan," seeing the look of confusion on his face he explained. "Fūinjutsu is a school of Jutsu that allows someone to seal objects, living things even chakra within other things through the use of various seals. You can also restrict movement and suppress things with seals." He explained.

"Like a storage scroll?" Tri asked earning him a nod, "That's right, storage scrolls are one of the easier seals to make. A more advanced version lets you seal objects in a seal placed on your own body. If you have the skill and imagination, you can do almost anything with Fūinjutsu," Minato elaborated.

"Am I too young to being learning this Tou-san?" Tri asked. Minato could see the wide-eyed fascination on his face. "No, you're not too young, but your handwriting and calligraphy skills need to be really good before you can start learning it. Do you still want me to show you?" Tri nodded his head vigorously. Minato hadn't ever seen him so excited by something.

Minato gave him fresh paper, a pot of ink and a brush. He was already aware Tri knew his Kanji so they could move straight onto the neatness element. "Tri-chan, I want you to write the Kanji for Fire. Don't worry about speed, focus on making it as neat as possible. Speed will come later." Minato explained.

Dipping his brush into the ink he slowly began the four brush strokes needed to write fire. A few seconds later he was done. Looking over his work, Minato could only find one mistake to point out, after quickly doing so Tri tried again, this time getting it spot on. Then they moved onto water, then Earth and over the next hour, Tri managed to perfect over 20 kanji symbols. At the end of their lesson, Minato handed Tri a book on level 1 Fūinjutsu.

"Now, Tri-chan. I only want you to practise drawing the seals ok. Don't try using your chakra with any, I don't want you to hurt yourself. When you think you're ready to test if the seal works, come and see me or Kaa-chan, Ok? We're both really good at this stuff," Minato said to his son, "Ok Tou-san."

Unseen by either of them Kushina had her ear against the door. She'd sent Tri to Minato for the next chakra exercise book but when he hadn't come back she'd gone to find him. Hearing Minato talking from the other side of the door, she listened in. Only smiling as she managed to piece together that her husband was introducing their son to Fūinjutsu, she loved the art of seals as only a true child of Uzushiogakure could. And now another had begun their education in it.

With a smile on her face, she hurried back downstairs before Tri caught her eavesdropping at the door.

* * *

End Chapter

 **[1] - Chakra Medical is a medical examination performed on children shortly after awakening their chakra for the first time. It is done to ascertain the potential of the child as a Shinobi (Chakra Reserves, General Intelligence etc.)**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

New Faces and new Friends

* * *

Two years had now passed since Tri had been adopted into the Uzumaki Namikaze family. He and Naruto, now aged 7 had had a remarkable 24 months. Their Shinobi training was going along superbly for both. They displayed ability that belied their years.

Minato's decision to increase the minimum age requirement to attend the Academy to 8 was the only thing that kept them from attending. So they would have to wait another year. Tsunade, Shizune and Hiruzen had them marked down as 'one-year wonders'. Most prospective children who attend the Academy graduate after two years, only the best graduated in one. Only around five percent of all graduates in the past decade had graduated after only their first year.

Despite their progress, not all in their lives had been positive. About six months into their training both noticed that their parents gradually spent less and less time training them, less and less time with them full stop. It upset and frustrated both of them, many times they'd asked for help with one thing or another and they'd instead been sent to Shizune or to Hiruzen or Tsunade. Eventually, both simply stopped bothering and went directly to Shizune, Tsunade, Hiruzen; They'd even persuaded Jōnin Maito Gai into helping on occasion with their physical fitness and Taijutsu.

It was just after one of those infamous Maito Gai training sessions that we find the two young brothers, on an early spring morning that seemed like any other. It would, however, mark the day the two brothers would meet one of their closest mutual friends.

"Urghh, I'm so glad we only have Gai's training three times a week," Naruto groaned. His everything ached. He thought he would get used to the physical punishment that Gai's training entailed but the big eye-browed Jōnin kept finding new ways to work them into the ground. Tri next to him chuckled, "Oh come on Naruto. It's necessary if we want to be good Shinobi. There are only 12 months left until we enter the Academy." Tri said to his blonde sibling.

Over the past two years, their individual personas had developed and despite looking like contradictions they complimented one another. Naruto was headstrong and somewhat impulsive but still kept his mind on task and fought intelligently. Meanwhile, Tri had developed a reserved, methodical style that suited medium to long range combat.

Their appearance too had changed. Not just that they were taller, more physically developed as you would expect from being them two years older. Although their hair was much the same, their attire had changed quite a bit.

Naruto much to the delight of everyone had long since abandoned the obnoxious orange garb he once wore, swapping it instead for black and grey. So now he wore black three-quarter pants with bandages around his right knee and a shuriken holster around his right thigh with regular blue sandals on his feet. The orange jacket had been replaced with a form-fitting black shirt with long sleeved mesh armour underneath. When necessary he also wore a thin grey jacket on top. The most prominent addition though was the Tantō Naruto wore over his left shoulder.

Tri too preferred darker colours. He now wore dark grey three-quarter pants, the hem of which fit tightly around his upper fibula and tibia. Both his knees were reinforced with bandages, with additional bandages around both his ankles underneath his black sandals. He like Naruto also wore a black shirt but he had a high collar that obscured his neck. He also wore mesh armour although his only extended to the upper forearm. Because dotted across both forearms and hands were seals. Storage seals, weight seals amongst many others.

"I know they are Tri. But Gai-sensei keeps forgetting we aren't adults," Naruto sighed. "Though I must admit, the results are noticeable," he added clenching his fist. Under Gai their speed, physical strength and stamina had taken noticeably increased.

"At least with Gai we actually get training on a regular and consistent basis," he noted bitterly, Tri sighed his agreement.

Home life was frustrating for both of them, the attention they received from their parents was now limited in the extreme. For the first six months or so, things had been fine. They understood their parents led busy lives, their Tou-san ran the village and their Kaa-chan had to devote most of her time to Rezano. But both still made time for their two eldest when they could, whether it was instructing or training them or just simply spending time with them. It had now been around eighteen months since their parents had taught or trained either of them anything.

A visit from Jiraiya had turned it all on its head. Following that visit, Rezano received more and more of his parents time and attention. And on one of the increasingly rare occasions, when either of them was actually free they told them they hadn't the time for one reason or another. Neither of them hated Rezano for the time and attention he received, they both understood and loved their younger sibling but the building frustration and loneliness led them both to resent him.

Furthermore, both of them realised that neither parent was doing it consciously, they weren't even aware of the extent to which they were ignoring their two eldest. And neither child could decide whether it that made it better or worse. They weren't the only ones to notice, Shizune, Tsunade and Hiruzen had all noticed, ever since the brothers had instead come directly to them for training.

But they couldn't inform Minato and Kushina of their ignorant stupidity because the brothers had asked them not to. Suffice to say none of the three adults were impressed.

And then a few weeks ago, Kushina had delightfully announced she was pregnant. As a result, Naruto and Tri had been caught in two minds. On one hand, they were elated to have another brother or their first sister. But they knew that the minuscule amount of attention they might have received was about to be taken away from them entirely.

In regard to their feelings towards Jiraiya. In Naruto's mind, he had gone from the caring grandfatherly figure he was openly affectionate towards. Now he was polite but cold, showing no positive emotion towards him whatsoever. Tri, on the other hand, didn't even bother with polite, he was outright hostile towards the Sannin. The dismissive attitude he'd displayed the night they'd met instilling an animosity that had only strengthened.

"Well it's a positive for us both, we get stamina and Taijutsu training from the best. And he gets practice in teaching and training others. Remember he said he wants to become a Jōnin instructor in a few years," Tri said spinning a shuriken on his index finger.

Gai's desire to instruct a Genin team was the primary reason he'd so eagerly agreed to train the two and three mornings a week he did just that. And while Gai could be a tough teacher, not afraid to be heavy-handed during spars he would compliment when appropriate.

Today he'd shown them a sheer rock face not far from the village. His challenge to them was to climb it one-handed without using chakra whether it took them a day or a year to complete. It had taken them nearly four hours to climb it with both hands and chakra, not to mention the number of times they nearly fell off. And now their arms felt as if they were going to drop off.

"How long do you think it's going to take to climb that cliff one-handed?" Naruto asked his brother. "A while," Tri chuckled.

They were still walking back to the village, through the endless trees that comprise the forests around Konohagakure. Ahead of them was a clearing and from the sounds of metal thudding against wood, it sounded like somebody was training. After sharing a quick look, they decided to be nosey.

Quietly making their way to the break in the treeline, Naruto trying his absolute best to be as silent as possible. Tri smiled and rolling his eyes at his sibling's antics, he instead chose to lean against a tree in plain sight.

The person who'd caught their interest was about their age, his shoulder-length black hair was tied back in a ponytail while his entire outfit was black except his grey sandals. The black-haired child was moving quickly, jumping and flipping while throwing shuriken. The sharp metal disks all hit their mark dead on, even the targets that were hidden behind trees.

He landed back on the ground to an applause. Turning around he saw a black and red haired kid leaned against a tree clapping. "Well thrown Uchiha-san," he complimented, raising an eyebrow at his recognising him as an Uchiha. "The fan symbol on your back," he explained walking out into the clearing towards him. "Anyways I'm being rude, allow me to introduce myself," he said extending his hand.

"My name is Uzumaki Tri, he said. "Uchiha Itachi," he replied, as the two shook hands.

"So is your companion going to introduce themselves or are they going to continue hiding in the bush?" Itachi asked Tri, both laughing as a sweat drop appeared on a nearby bush. Slowly Naruto emerged from the bush, a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry, I'm Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto," he said. "Well, it's nice to meet you Naruto-san," Itachi replied.

"How long have you been in training Itachi-san?" Tri asked his gaze again on the wooden target riddled with shuriken. "Since I was five, so just over two years Tri-san," the Uchiha answered his eyes on the Shuriken still spinning on Tri's finger. "That makes three of us then," Tri said, a flick of his wrist letting the Shuriken fly, it too embedding itself in the wooden target some thirty feet away.

"What fields are you both training in?" Itachi asked the two brothers. Naruto replied first. "Maito Gai-sensei and Tsunade-baa-chan teach us Taijutsu. Shizune-nee-chan teaches us Chakra control and Hiruzen Sarutobi-Jiji teaches us Ninjutsu as well as Fūinjutsu" Naruto stating, ticking each off with a finger.

"Okay.." Itachi replied, not really getting much information from his words.

"Our Taijutsu teachings include Maito Gai's Gōken (Strong Fist) and Senju Tsunade's Senju style. Shizune-chan, for the most part, works on improving our chakra control because we both have abnormally large chakra reserves for our age. Our Fūinjutsu training is just learning seals. While our Ninjutsu training has for the most part been learning the techniques they would otherwise teach you in the Academy. We may have to force the issue when it comes to chakra nature manipulation" Tri elaborated.

Itachi nodded. "How about yourself Itachi-san?" Tri inquired. "My training, for the most part, is the standard Uchiha styles in Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu. Although I have begun forays into Uchiha Katon Ninjutsu and Genjutsu," the Uchiha finished.

"Katon?" Tri said, his voice intrigued. "Would you be willing to demonstrate Itachi-san?" Tri had noticed the singed grass in parts of the clearing when he'd arrived and was curious to what had caused them.

He smiled briefly when Itachi nodded, turning to face the clearing he wove a few hand signs. " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** " (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) Itachi spoke as a fireball formed in front of him before releasing it into the ground ahead of him, avoiding the rather flammable trees.

"Impressive Itachi-san," Tri again complemented the Uchiha. "Thank you Tri-san, you mentioned you had yet to try nature Ninjutsu. Does that mean neither of you knows your affinities?" he inquired.

"Yeah, we haven't asked yet," Naruto replied.

"Asked? I'm surprised your parents haven't helped you with it, it takes seconds. Speaking of which, both of your parents are really strong aren't they. Yet you never mentioned them earlier, do they not assist in training you?" Itachi inquired, the immediate looks of frustration on both their faces suggested to him he'd strayed into 'touchy' territory.

"No, they don't. They are… otherwise occupied." Tri answered, no emotion in his voice. Itachi could sense there was more to the issue, but decided prying further wasn't a good idea.

"So," Itachi spoke, breaking the nervous silence. "What were you planning on doing for the rest of the day?" he asked, deciding it was best to move the discussion to another topic. "Pretty much what you are doing Itachi-san," Naruto answered.

"Well then, shall we?" the Uchiha asked going to retrieve his shuriken. The brothers looked at one another, both nodding.

* * *

 **That Evening**

Naruto and Tri were walking home, they'd bid farewell to their new Uchiha friend with an agreement to meet again the following day. In just a few hours Itachi had been able to point out a few minor flaws in their shuriken technique. Naruto who had taken to Taijutsu was able to provide Itachi with a few tips on his Taijutsu form while Tri was able to help with the efficiency of his chakra manipulation and control.

"What's the plan then Tri?" Having seen Itachi display of nature transformation Ninjutsu had made the siblings decide it was about time they added it to their learning. "Tou-san will almost certainly still be at his office at work while Kaa-chan will be downstairs with Rezano-chan. You distract them while I find some chakra paper. Say I've gone to the bathroom or something. Then in the morning after we've found our chakra natures I'll find us some Ninjutsu to start learning." Tri explained.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "What affinities do you think we'll have?" Naruto wondered aloud. "I've no idea about me, but Kaa-chan is Suiton and Tou-san is Fūton. So you'll probably be one of those, if you're really lucky, you may have both. Naruto was getting excited now, he looked on the brink of jumping halfway across the village.

A few minutes later they were home. "We're home!" Naruto half shouted across the house. "In the dining room," they heard. A quick nod from Naruto as he headed to the dining room while Tri shunshined upstairs, a trick Hiruzen's son Asuma had shown them a few months ago before he'd departed for the capital, his destination was their father's office.

Opening the door quietly he found it empty as expected. All the draws and storage scrolls were labelled and organised alphabetically, it made finding things very easy. Quickly tracking down the storage scroll labelled 'Chakra Paper'. Tri took it out, unrolled it and channelled his chakra into it, with a puff of smoke a few sheets of chakra paper appeared. He quickly put the paper in one of the storage seals on his right wrist before placing the scroll back in its rightful place.

He completed the plan by actually going to the bathroom, washing his hands and then heading down to join his family in the dining room.

"Evening Tri-chan," he heard his Kushina call as he stepped into the dining room. "Evening Kaa-chan, hi Rezano-chan." He said waving at his younger brother. Sitting down at the table but not before booping Rezano lightly on the nose eliciting a babyish giggle from the two-year-old. "Naruto-chan was just telling me you both made a new friend today."

-Uchiha Household-

"So, come on then Itachi, who did you meet today? For some reason, the anticipation's getting to me." Mikoto Uchiha cheerily asked her eldest son. They were in the midst of dinner when Itachi had mentioned he'd met two kids his own age. For a while now Mikoto had noticed her son's solitary attitude, especially over the past year or two, he didn't interact with many people. Only herself, Sasuke and fellow clansman Shisui regularly interacted with Itachi.

"Their names are Tri and Naruto," Itachi replied swallowing a mouthful of rice. The names took Mikoto by surprise, truthfully she was delighted. Her and Kushina were lifelong friends as well as rivals always seeking to one-up the other. She'd wondered for years whether their children would in some way be drawn to one another. And now it seems they were.

"It's nice to see you making friends Itachi," Mikoto smiled while wiping the mess from around her second son Sasuke's mouth. "Is Tou-san working late again Kaa-chan?" Itachi asked looking at the chair at the end of the table, which once again was empty. "Yeah, looks like another all-nighter," Mikoto replied bitterly. The lack of time her husband Fugaku, the leader of the Uchiha clan spent at home was a source of great frustration for her. Doubly so since on the rare occasions he was home he practically ignored Sasuke in favour of Itachi.

"I see," Itachi said neutrally.

"Are your new friends training to be Shinobi like you too?" Mikoto asked. Itachi nodded as he chewed. "Yeah, they're both pretty good, they train with Maito Gai-san, Tsunade-sama and her assistant Shizune-san. Mikoto was half paying attention as she was tending to Sasuke who'd decided to throw his rice everywhere. But she became confused, "Did they not mention Minato or Kushina among those who train them?"

"I did ask. But they said they were too busy, I think there's more to it but I didn't want to be rude," Itachi said. The confusion only grew on Mikoto's face. She knew for a fact that Minato and Kushina deeply loved their children, so why weren't they involved in their training?

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a chair dragging across the floor. Itachi had stood and was pushing the chair back under the table. "I'm feeling tired Kaa-chan, so I'm gonna go to bed."  
"Okay, sweetie. Good night, I'll see you in the morning." She replied. Her attention still focused on getting rice into Sasuke's mouth instead of on the floor.  
"Be good for Kaa-chan Sasuke," Itachi asked lightly tapping his younger brother on the forehead with his middle and index fingers.

-Uzumaki Namikaze Household-

"How do we use the paper, Tri?" Naruto asked as he rubbed the paper in his hands between his fingers. Kushina had been delighted at finding out her children had befriended the eldest of her closest friend and rival. She had also proclaimed their eternal rivalry would continue through their children which earned her some concerned looks from Tri and Naruto. Both had quickly escaped to Naruto's room having quickly made themselves scarce following dinner.

Naruto's room was no different to that of most seven-year-old children. A bed accompanied by a bedside cabinet, a wardrobe and Chester drawers. The floor was a comfy carpet and there was a small desk in the corner. But pride of place went to Naruto's giant bean bag, a gift from Shizune on his sixth birthday.

"Channel some of your chakra into it Naruto. How it reacts determines your affinity. If it becomes wet its Suiton, if it splits its Fūton, it burns then its Katon, it crumbles if its Doton and if it crinkles then its Raiton," Tri explained, his brother near mesmerised by the plain slip of paper.

"You go first Naruto-kun, we have an idea of what yours will be." Thusly Naruto channelled his chakra into the paper. The anticipation was palpable, what happened next wasn't what either expected.

"What?" both quietly exclaimed.

* * *

End Chapter


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Learning Curve

* * *

Itachi couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. They'd both explained it to him already but he had to ask again, he had to make sure. "Can you repeat that I think I misheard."

* * *

* **Flashback** *

"What?" both quietly exclaimed after one end of the paper in Naruto's hand became wet. They assumed therefore that Naruto's affinity was Suiton. But before either could speak the other end of the paper began crumbling, falling onto the floor as dirt, then the paper split in half.

"Does that mean I have…." Naruto tried to speak. "Three affinities? Yes, I think it does." Tri finished for him.

"You have Doton, Suiton and Fūton. Kaa-chan has Suiton and Tou-san has Fūton but I don't know where you've gotten Doton from. Doton affinities in Konoha are uncommon," Tri explained, Naruto was still open-mouthed in shock.

Naruto re-discovered his voice enough to ask, "Are you going to find out what your affinity is?" Tri was apprehensive, his family history was a total unknown. Children pre-dominantly inherited their parent's affinities. But for Tri that was all blank, he figured, however, that his distant relation to the Uchiha clan might mean a Katon affinity.

And that wasn't what happened as he channelled his chakra into the paper. Sure one end caught fire, but not before the paper split in half and after the paper had divided the other half quickly turned soggy.

This time it was Tri's turn to lose his voice and control of his bottom jaw.

* **End Flashback** *

* * *

"So you both have three affinities?" Itachi asked, wanting to make absolutely sure. "Yes," Tri replied while Naruto firmly nodded.

"So which are you going to learn to use first?" the Uchiha asked, genuinely curious as to which affinity his new friends would look to learn first. "We think that the affinity that displays on the paper first is the most prominent affinity," Naruto replied, "So I will be learning to use Doton first but Tri will be learning Katon to begin with since Fūton is notoriously difficult to learn," the blonde finished. "Not to mention dangerous," Tri added.

"But before that, we want to learn to mould and manipulate our chakra into our affinities before we try any Jutsu," Tri explained. Itachi nodding in understanding. He had learnt how to mould Katon chakra before learning any Jutsu. It was very unsafe otherwise as you were quite literally playing with fire in the case of Katon.

Unsealing a book on advanced chakra control Tri began reading. Shizune was the first to put his remarkable memory skills to work. He only had to read a scroll or book once, whatever he read he simply remembered without fail. He would quickly read the entire book and then hand it over to Naruto.

Naruto charged straight towards Itachi, they'd spar while they waited for Tri to finish reading.

Naruto cocked back his right fist, looking to land a haymaker on Itachi's jaw. The young Uchiha, however, was quicker, deflecting the Namikaze's arm while landing a glancing blow of his own against Naruto's left collarbone. With that Naruto was immediately forced on the defensive as Itachi turned the momentum of the fight against him. Naruto's Taijutsu style was effective, it was compact and got him in closer than most other Taijutsu styles were comfortable with but that was if it landed. Naruto lacked the overall speed needed to bring most of his heavy hits down on his opponents.

His primary Taijutsu style was a hybrid formed from a mixture of what Tsunade and Gai had taught him. In reality, it meant that Naruto knew three Taijutsu styles, and its switching between these three styles that allowed him to land his hit, totally catching Itachi out as a left-hand hook crashing off his temple. His quick instincts to jump back the only thing that stopped a leg sweep from leaving him on the floor.

Looking up to find a wide grin on Naruto's face as the Hokage's son assumed a defensive stance. Itachi came forward, the momentary ringing in his ears ceasing. He got within a few feet before vanishing. Naruto was caught off guard for just a moment but it was enough as Itachi reappeared behind him, letting fly with a kick to the kidneys. He vanished again as Naruto tried to turn to face him and was struck in the kidneys again, a punch this time. This happened several more times before Naruto was forced to drop down to one knee, his breathing ragged.

"Okay I get it Itachi, I need to be quicker," Naruto rasped, his admission only getting the slightest of smiles from the stoic Uchiha. "Then allow me to assist you Naruto-san," he said before disappearing again.

Their spar continued for near on three hours, each taking turns being on offence and defence, learning weaknesses and ironing them out.

"Done!" Tri declared closing the book. Both Itachi and Naruto hit the ground drawing deep breaths, their spar now at an end. Tri looked up, trying to find the suns position in the sky, "Good timing too, Lunchtime," he said channelling chakra into a storage seal on his wrist, a bento box appearing in his hands. Naruto managing to drag himself off the floor dived into his pack to retrieve his much to the amusement of Itachi.

"Tri-san, will you not have to read that book again?" He shook his head, quickly swallowing a piece of beef. "No Itachi-san, I'm able to remember the contents of a book or scroll after only reading it once. Shizune-nii chan called it a photographic memory." The Uzumaki explained. "Did you find out what you needed?" Naruto quickly asked in between mouthfuls.

"Yes, Katon chakra requires the user to superheat chakra within their stomach before expelling it through their mouth, making sure to ignite it after it had left the body. It didn't, however, elaborate on how you go about superheating the chakra."  
"You can just ask Itachi, can't you?"  
"I could, but I need to be able to discover things like this for myself," Tri replied, Itachi inclining his head slightly, respecting his new friends desire to learn himself. He neglected, however, to mention that he himself had been shown how to mould Katon chakra.

Naruto just shrugged his shoulders as he continued devouring his food. He didn't quite share his brothers streak for self-discovery.

"Itachi, how long did it take you to successfully mould Katon chakra?"  
"Hmm," Itachi murmured as he cast his mind back. "Around two weeks I believe, although my Tou-san guided me through it. Your book is right about needing to create it in your stomach though." Itachi added.

"Have you tried creating the chakra of any other elements?" Naruto asked. Itachi nodded, "Yes, I can create Suiton chakra but I haven't learned any Suiton Ninjutsu yet." After listening to his new friend Tri set aside his bento and activated another of his many storage seals, a scroll appearing in his hand. He tossed the scroll at Itachi who caught it effortlessly, he curiously looked at the scroll then at Tri, his eyes seeking an explanation.

"The scroll contains a basic Suiton Ninjutsu. Naruto will be reading the book, I'll be trying to create Katon chakra. That leaves you on your own so you need something to do."

* * *

- **Earlier that morning** -

Tri once again found himself in his Tou-san's personal office, Tou-san, of course, had already left for work and Kaa-chan, of course, had her attention focused on Rezano-chan. Tri quickly scanned the labels spaced across the many shelves. The elemental Ninjutsu had its own section, it was also further organised by how complex the Jutsu was. Thus it made it very easy for Tri to find what he was looking for. D-Rank or C-Rank Ninjutsu for Katon, Suiton and Doton. They'd decided to leave Fūton for last.

The scrolls containing the Jutsu weren't protected by any seals so Tri was quickly able to take or copy them. He was about to leave when another label caught his eye, focusing in on it, "Genjutsu.." Picking out the first book, the title read 'An introduction to and the fundamentals of Genjutsu'. He quickly placed the book in one of his storage seals before leaving the room.

'I'll work on that in my own time.' He thought to himself as he headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Thank you Tri-san," Itachi said as he opened the scroll and began reading.

* * *

One year later

" **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**." (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

" **Suiton: Teppōdama**." (Water Release: Gunshot)

The two Jutsu clashed before Naruto had to quickly roll to the right as the fireball consumed his water bullet and continued towards him. He hurriedly patted himself down to make sure his clothes hadn't caught fire. "You almost got me Itachi-kun," Naruto grinned, although underneath he was annoyed that Itachi's Katon was still overpowering his Suiton despite the nature disadvantage. Itachi, however, didn't answer, he never did, he simply vanished. Naruto unsheathed his Tantō just in time to block a kunai thrown from the right.

He had to quickly spin on the spot as Itachi reappeared behind him, another Kunai in hand. The two metal blades clashed. Itachi slowly started to get pushed back, "I'm the strongest of the three of us Itachi, you know that," Naruto said through gritted teeth. "I do know, Naruto," was the emotionless reply. His replying at all surprised Naruto for the briefest moment before his instincts told him to duck, the heel of a foot skimming past where his head had just been. The follow-up punch instead of striking flesh struck wood as Naruto Kawarimied to safety.

They'd been taking it in turns to fight two on one and it was Naruto's turn to be the one. The blonde felt this exercise was hardest for him as Tri and Itachi seemed to have developed an instinctual understanding of one another, able to act in tandem with one another without having to communicate.

"Not bad Tri, I only felt the kick coming at the last moment." Naruto commended his brother. "But you should always watch where you land," a smirk crossing his face as Tri and Itachi looked down to see an explosive tag already burning down. Itachi immediately Kawarimied himself while Tri just stood there, Naruto could have sworn he heard a low chuckle before the tag went off.

His instincts kicked in again as he stepped back, a pair of Senbon missing him by millimetres. Not wanting to allow time for more Senbon to be thrown Naruto charged in the direction they'd come from. Bursting through the bushes he found, nothing, he did, however, hear a hiss just above him. Without even looking he again rushed forward again as the explosive tag detonated, utterly consuming the tree it had been placed on.

Naruto cursed as he realised this now meant he'd lost sight of both his opponents. Before both could set upon him, however, he heard a female voice through the trees. "Time!" Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, he had lasted the fifteen minutes.

Naruto shunshined back to the clearing, Tri and Itachi were already there. In front of them were Tsunade, Shizune and Hiruzen. The three adults who had taught them so much, the three 8-year-olds by now considered them Sensei, they thought similar of Maito Gai but he was currently absent on a mission.

A few weeks after they'd met, Tri and Naruto had persuaded their new Uchiha friend to join them in their lessons from the four adults and it had worked wonders for him. They'd both also met one of Itachi's closest friends in Shisui Uchiha, someone Tri himself had become good friends with.

Hiruzen surveyed the three young prospects in front of him. Naruto, appearance wise he was the absolute blend of Minato and Kushina. He had his father's hair and facial structure, but he had his mother's eyes, he'd also inherited his mother's personality and had a habit of being boisterous and emotional. His outfit had also developed, he still wore the black three-quarter pants and black shirt. But now in addition to the sleeved mesh under-armour he wore under the shirt, he also wore mesh armour on both legs, something you'd more likely see on Kunoichi.

He now also wore bandages around both wrists as well his right knee, all of the bandages bore utility seals. His blue sandals also remained as did the Tantō over his left shoulder, now though he had a second Tantō strapped horizontally just above his tailbone.

Itachi, for the most part, bore the same outfit, black clothing with grey sandals. He had a similar appearance to Konoha's ANBU, minus the mask and Tantō. His hair while still worn in a ponytail was a little longer now reaching his shoulder blades, the tear troughs more prominent on his face.

The greatest change, however, was Tri. He'd changed his outfit to suit his combat style. His three-quarters pants that cut off just below the knee had gone from Grey to Navy blue, the rest of his legs from the knee to the ankles were covered in bandages. His sandals while still black now totally enclosed around his feet. He wore an elbow length sleeved black undershirt with nothing over it, the high collar was now gone.

Like Naruto he too wore mesh under armour on his chest, his extended to his wrists, the forearms had a layer of bandages over them. He wore additional bandages around his neck, both thighs and both upper arms. All the bandages were covered in seals. But over all of that Tri wore a plain Black cloak, it had sleeves just longer than his arms as well as a high collar that reached the tip of his nose. Hiruzen was absolutely convinced that Tri's hair colour had changed, the black seemed darker, more like Itachi's jet black and the red paradoxically seemed both brighter in tone but darker in colour.

"Alright you three, we're done here today. As you already know you start at the Academy tomorrow, it will be a strange year for you because we've already taught you nearly everything they'd otherwise teach you," Tsunade spoke, the three boys nodding. "And we're pretty sure it'll only be the one year if you display the ability we know you possess," Hiruzen added. Privately he and Tsunade agreed that all three were already beyond the Academy, but to become a Genin you had to graduate from the Academy.

"Ok you three, we're done for today, off home with you. You're expected at the Academy entrance by 9:00 am," Shizune stated, dismissing the three.

* * *

- **Later that evening** -

Naruto was shovelling his food into his mouth as he always did. Tri could only shake his head, "Naruto, why do you persist in eating as if someone's going to take your food from you?" he asked his blonde brother. "Bccuus mmm unngwwey," Naruto replied, his mouth still full, one or two grains of rice flying from his mouth across the table. "Naruto, that's disgusting, Swallow first, then speak," Tri's blunt voice getting through as Naruto swallowed the entire Onigiri he'd just stuffed in his mouth with one great gulp.

"Sorry Tri, I forgot," said the blonde with one of those eyeless smiles that Kakashi was so known for. "Kami forbid you actually remember for once," Tri muttered under his breath as another Onigiri vanished down Naruto's maw quickly followed by a piece of prawn toast. Tri just shuddered, looking anywhere but the blonde.

His eyes fell on Minato who was, in turn, watching Kushina feeding the latest addition to the family, a few months earlier Minusha had been born. And even at such an early age, they could tell that daughter would become the spitting image of her mother.

The expected had also happened, Minusha's arrival had relegated Naruto and Tri even further down their parent's list of priorities. Both he and Naruto were confident their parents no longer kept up to date on their training and that neither knew how strong they now were.

Over the past year, Tri had made many visits to his Tou-sans office, he had borrowed or copied dozens of scrolls. He had even found a scroll on the Hiraishin, although he couldn't open it. The locking seal on the scroll was, for now, beyond him. Katon, Suiton, Fūton Ninjutsu, Chakra control, Fūinjutsu, Genjutsu. Tri had systematically assimilated all the knowledge available to him.

Not even Naruto knew of Tri's studying Genjutsu, despite Tri's vast chakra reserves, he'd developed a great level of control over it. And it had allowed him to learn to use Genjutsu. And if Naruto didn't know then nobody knew. Although Tri wondered whether Itachi suspected, since as Tri improved in his secret skill it had become harder for the Uchiha to use Genjutsu on him.

He would likely keep his Genjutsu a secret until he needed it. Surprise and deception suited him and his style of fighting.

Over the past year he had refined his style, he wasn't very good at Taijutsu, that was Naruto's field so he focused elsewhere. Tri focused instead on Ninjutsu, Shurikenjutsu and pure speed. The speed was his counter to Taijutsu, after all, how can someone punch you if they can't catch you. He and Maito-Gai-sensei had spent hours improving his speed. Tri wore weight seals permanently now, with them active he weighted double his actual weight. Only Gai-sensei had seen him move with the seals deactivated.

He used shuriken and Senbon to unsettle opponents, and Ninjutsu to finish fights. His greatest asset though lay elsewhere, it was his ability to dictate any fight. His skills with misdirection and confusion meant he was always in control, whether on the offensive or defensive he was always dictating what happened next.

This wasn't to say Tri couldn't fight in close quarters but when he did he utilised his speed to the maximum. The damage dealt through the kinetic impact of his punches and kicks was provided through speed, not power.

He now possessed a level 5 knowledge in Fūinjutsu, his photographic memory allowing him to the art of seals far faster than would otherwise be possible.

Naruto happily chewed on another piece of prawn toast, sparing always made him hungry and his sensei had had him sparing with Tri and Itachi all day. Testing their overall skills. He could see Tri looking at their Tou-san, they both knew Tri handled the loneliness better than he did. And the arrival of their new sister only made it worse. The seating plan at the dinner table said quite a lot about the family dynamic.

And their guest tonight noticed it too. Hiruzen Sarutobi would dine with them on occasion. Naruto and Tri both loved it when he did because it meant they had someone present who would actually regularly interact with them.

Minato sat at the end of the table with Rezano to his right, on the other side of Rezano was Kushina and in-between the two of them was baby Minusha. Tri and Naruto both sat to the left of Minato and rarely interacted with anybody else at the table other than each other.

Just like his brother Naruto too had defined his fighting style, Naruto specialised in Kenjutsu and Taijutsu, he was a close combat fighter, he had his own complete Taijutsu style combining the styles Gai, Hiruzen and Tsunade had taught him. The combination of the three left him with a hard-hitting, direct style of Taijutsu and the incorporation of his two Tantō provided him range and fast killing power.

His Ninjutsu saw him use Suiton in an offensive capacity and Doton in a defensive capacity. The Suiton Jutsu provided him with range, adding another dimension to his fighting style. He too had begun learning Fūinjutsu, although he was only at level 2 to Tri's 5, it meant he also bore a number of various seals on him.

Underneath the happy exterior he displayed when eating, Naruto was anxious. Tomorrow was the entrance speech, all the new student's parents would be there, Naruto knew Tou-san would be there, after all, he was the one that gave the speech, but.

"Kaa-chan, are you going to be at the entrance speech?" Naruto asked, half knowing the answer already but a part of him holding out in hope. A futile hope he soon realised as Kushina gave him her answer. "Sorry Naru-chan, but I'm busy looking after Reza-chan and Minu-chan. Your Tou-san will be there though." And without another word, she picked up the empty plates and simply walked into the kitchen. Naruto's face dropped, the emotional barriers he'd built over the years of emotional negligence were being pushed to the brink.

Tri, however, wasn't upset. He was livid, his face was the same neutral calm but underneath he was seething. His Kaa-chan's words had no apologetic tone to them, the utter disregarding of them both, the contempt she displayed. Tri wasn't overly fussed about the Academy overall, but he knew how much it meant to Naruto, the excitement had been building in his blonde sibling for weeks and to watch it drain away in a second had him on the verge of seeing red.

Tri was having to concentrate hard, it was the only thing preventing him from venting killing intent, something he'd developed seemingly by accident throughout his training. He wouldn't be denied the satisfaction of letting his parents find out about their ignorance at a time that suited both him and Naruto, he knew it was petty, that it was vindictive. But he simply didn't care.

Looking at Naruto again Tri could tell what was about to happen. Breathing deeply he brought his anger under control, "Tou-san, may Naruto and I be excused, we'd like to go for a walk before bed." Minato only gave Tri the briefest of glances before nodding. The Yondaime Hokage watched as Tri practically led Naruto out of the dining room. Minato mussed over his son's actions but figured they were just nervous before he went to help Kushina wash up.

Hiruzen just sat there, what he'd just watched deeply saddened him. Only he along with Tsunade, Shizune, Itachi and somewhat bizarrely Shisui knew that it happened. But to see it with his own eyes near broke Hiruzen's heart. He knew Minato and Kushina loved Naruto and Tri, that had never been in doubt but to see the damage their actions or lack thereof caused. And Naruto and Tri had asked him to keep quiet on the matter, restraining him on the matter.

* * *

- **Training Ground 41** -

It had taken Tri and Naruto nearly fifteen minutes to reach training ground 41, this particular training area was very out of the way and saw little in the way of traffic. Tri had known he had to get Naruto out of the house the moment he'd seen that look on his face. It wasn't a face he saw often, perhaps once every few months. But he knew that it meant Naruto was on the verge of tears. Tri always took Naruto somewhere secluded, where they wouldn't be disturbed so Naruto could vent the bottled up and repressed emotions while Tri would comfort him as best he could.

And that's exactly what he was doing. A reassuring hand on Naruto shoulder as the blonde quietly cried, the tears cascading down his face. There was nothing he could say that would help, he simply had to let it run its course.

If Tri hadn't been totally focusing on his brother he would have likely noticed they weren't really alone that night.

Sat on a tree branch some thirty feet away was another who needed to away from everyone. He wasn't lamenting the actions of another, he was instead lamenting the actions he himself had taken. In a moment of weakness, his envy had taken control of him. And his weakness had cost the life of a dear friend and rival. He was still coming to terms with his actions and what it had cost him, but there was more. He was also coming to terms with something his weakness had given him, something he didn't fully understand.

A four pointed pin-wheel on a background of red.

* * *

End Chapter


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

To the Academy

* * *

Tri, Naruto and Itachi were stood in a line on one of the Academies training grounds. On a platform above was the Yondaime Hokage, decked out in his cloak and hat. He was about to give the speech he gave the new students every year. Looking down at the new batch amongst all the new students who weren't descended from a clan. There were the heirs to the Uchiha and Inuzuka clans. And while their clan's respective heirs weren't yet old enough there was also a Yamanaka and an Akimichi. And for the first time since he and Kushina had attended the Academy, both the Uzumaki and the Namikaze clans was also represented.

Minato took a breath and began. "New students, greetings and welcome to the Shinobi Academy of Konohagakure. Today you begin your first step on the way to becoming the next generation of guardians, defenders of your families, friends, your homes and your country. But what does it mean to be a Konoha Shinobi? It's deepest meaning is one only you can answer in time but its meaning is also one in which you all share regardless of birth or family name. You are all the embodiment of the Will of Fire. When you find yourself struggling, when you find the going tough always remember the Will of Fire. For the Will of Fire is to remember that you don't fight for yourself. You fight for your family, your friends, your home and your country. It is in the defence of those and that which you care for most that you are strongest."

"So work hard, train long and learn what you are taught and you will earn your Hitai-ate's. And with that, you will become true Shinobi."

The ending of Minato's speech was met with rapturous applause from the students and assembled parents. Minato scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. He was a confident man and yet he was still awkward when it came to crowds and speeches. With a brief wave, he was gone in a yellow flash.

Naruto sighed while Tri just rolled his eyes. Naruto felt a hand on his shoulder, turning his head he found it was Itachi's, the Uchiha gave his friend a small sympathetic smile. Tri had detailed last night's events to him after spotting Naruto had lost most of the enthusiasm he'd had bubbling away over the previous weeks.

"Thank you Itachi, I'm fine," Naruto said with another sigh. He had perked up a bit after he and Tri were greeted by Tsunade, Hiruzen, Shizune and Gai who'd been back in the village a matter of hours. Their words of encouragement putting a smile back on Naruto's glum face.

"Tri, Naruto, Itachi. Good Luck!" They heard Shizune shout from the sidelines. Meanwhile, Gai next to here was crying tears of happiness, "YES! Now you three can display the power of youth to your new classmates!" the Taijutsu master shouted. While the man could be a bit much at times the three considered him a good friend as well as a sensei, they each laughed at his emotional display.

In front of all the new students were a small group of adults of various ages all sporting the Konoha Hitai-ate. One stepped forward. "Greetings students, my name is Sora Yui and I am the Academy headmaster and behind me are the teachers. If they call your name then you will be in their class and they will be your sensei."

Sora stepped to the side allowing the assembled sensei to begin calling out names. The students, for the most part, chatted among themselves as they waited for their names. The three friends said nothing as they looked around at all the new faces.

"Uzumaki Tri," the call went out from a man in his early thirties. With a nod to his two friends Tri walked towards his new sensei, he nodded his head in greeting as he moved to stand behind him.

The calling of Tri's name had silenced many of the students and parents. Many turned to get a look at the mysterious adopted son of Minato and Kushina, not that they could discern much with most of him hidden behind his cloak. Tri had only just joined the back of the line when his new sensei spoke again. "Inuzuka Hana". Tri was soon joined by a young girl with long brown hair tied in a ponytail, a lock either side of her face. She had fang shaped red markings on both cheeks and black eyes.

Walking around her feet, however, were what marked her as an Inuzuka, three Ninken puppies. The three young dogs sniffed at Tri's feet, they seemed friendly so Tri squatted down. "Hello you three," he said calmly slowly raising his hand, ready to back off if any of them growled at him. His pre-Academy education had included learning about the various clans in Konoha. So he knew he had to be wary lest you end up with a bite.

Hana herself was watching with interest, her three companions were usually cautious around new sights and smells. She was ready to call them to heel should they growl but they didn't. "I take it they aren't normally so nice?" Tri asked, having seen the slightly surprised look on the girls face. "Err, no. They are normally shy or they growl."

"If you want to head to the classroom, your new classmates will join you when I've called them, Room 2, Floor 3." They both nodded and headed inside, the Ninken following at Hana's feet.

Naruto and Itachi watched Tri and Hana walk into the Academy. Several more names were called out before everyone had their heads turned again. "Uchiha Itachi," The Uchiha heir and Naruto shared a look before Itachi shrugged his shoulders as he too walked inside, his sensei telling him the classroom he was heading too.

Time went by as more and more names were read out. Eventually, Naruto was one of the final few yet to have their names called out, it had been over ten minutes since Itachi's had been called. And now Naruto was getting nervous but he wasn't sure why. Then it happened.

"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto." The yard went quiet at the utterance of his name. He stepped towards the man who'd called his name, his new sensei gave him the room he needed to go to. The nerves were now in full effect, so nervous that he didn't even notice the man who'd called his name was the same man who'd previously called Tri and Itachi's names.

With a final wave to the group of onlooking Shinobi who'd spent the past three years training him, he headed through the main door into the Academy.

Heading up to the third floor he came out into a corridor, looking at the numbers above the doors he found the room he was looking for, Room 2.

Opening the door he looked into the classroom to find a dozen or so students. Two of whom were Itachi and Tri, upon seeing his brother and best friend he let out a sigh of relief. He stepped through the door shutting it behind him. Looking around the room against one wall was a blackboard with a desk in front of it. Opposite the desk was two columns of tiered desks each containing three rows, those further back raised higher than the ones in front. There were six desks and they were wide enough for two people and it was at these desks he found the two familiar faces.

Tri was sat at the second desk up nearest the door and sat next to him was the Inuzuka he'd seen earlier. Tri was still busy being introduced to her Ninken. While Itachi was sat in the row behind Tri but on the other side of the room. Sat next to him was a lithe girl with large black eyes and long brown hair. Naruto could see the fan emblem on the back of her light purple outfit marking her as an Uchiha. There was only one seat left in the room and that was at the desk directly behind Tri so Naruto heading towards it. He got a smile from Itachi as he walked past him and Tri gave him a thumbs up despite his full attention on the puppy playfully biting his other hand as he fussed the animal.

Naruto sat down on the bench behind the desk. He extended his hand to the person he'd be sitting next to. "Hi, I'm Naruto," he said introducing himself. "Maruten Akimichi," was the gruff reply as the larger boy shook his hand. They'd barely shook hands before the door opened again and in walked the man who'd called their names outside.

He put his books down on the desk before clapping his hands together. "Morning class, my name is Daikoku Funeno, you call me Daikoku-sensei. Understood," he said in a loud slightly aggressive voice startling some of them into sitting up straight. Daikoku was a large man with short brown hair and a goatee, his attire was near identical to Kakashi's.

"Hai, Sensei," they collectively replied. The large man smiled before speaking again, this time in a much softer, jovial voice. "Excellent, now why don't we start by introducing ourselves since you'll all be getting to know each other anyway." There were six desks in front of him, he pointed at a girl sat at the bottom left desk. "You can start us off."

The girl stood, "I'm Saki Yua," she said in a quiet voice. She had hair Naruto thought looked similar to Kurenai-san's in style just with the addition of a top-knot and that her hair was green. She wore dark blue long legs sandals reaching mid-thigh, In addition, she wore short blue pants with a black half-skirt around her right hip. On her torso she wore a black sleeveless top that cut off at the belly button, she had bandages around her stomach and her right hand, her arms had red sleeves stretching from upper arm to her wrists. Finally, under the entire outfit, she wore mesh.

Saki sat down and the girl next to her stood, "My name is Kazue Yuuki." The girl was blue, very blue her entire outfit and her hair was the exact same shade of light blue. She wore her long blue hair in a prominent high ponytail with a second ponytail below it. She had a single bang stretching from the top of her forehead to just above her nose. Her arms and legs were practically covered in bandages while she also wore mesh that covered her torso. She wore a one shoulder vest over her upper body with a short diagonal skirt that reached her upper right thigh but extended to just above her left knee. Her heel sandals reached to below her knees.

Moving onto the second desk was a boy with brown eyes and eyebrows that made him look permanently annoyed. He had long straight grey-black hair. He wore light grey sandals, full-length green pants and a long-sleeved black shirt that reached his upper thigh. Finally, he wore a plain red bracelet around each wrist. His name was Rokurou Kenta.

Next to Rokurou was a girl named Mei Moe with light grey hair tied in two long braids reaching her tailbone. She had a ponytail like bang either side of her face that reached down to her chest. She had light brown short open heeled sandals with black three-quarter pants. Her black over shirt was very similar to the one worn by Anko Mitarashi, a Kunoichi that unnerved Naruto greatly. However, Mei also wore a black high blouse in accompaniment that reached the bottom of where her breasts would one day be leaving her stomach exposed, the blouse also completely covered her neck.

The next desk was Hana who stood, introduced herself as well as her Ninken, the three Haimaru Brothers. Tri stood to introduce himself removing his cloak in the process so everybody could actually get a look at him.

Next was a girl with platinum hair tied in a simple ponytail, the giveaway sign of her entire clan. Keiko was her name and she was a Yamanaka. She wore a sleeveless light blue Qipao dress with thigh length dark grey sandals. She wore mesh around both hands with bandages wrapped around her right arm.

Next to her was Saisu Kamano who's long, spiky light brown hair reminded Naruto far too much of Jiraiya. He wore a grey cloak over a black shirt with dark blue pants and blue sandals. Slung over his back a Kama hulled in bandages.

Moving to the third row saw Itachi introduce himself along with his fellow clanswoman, Izumi Uchiha.

The final desk saw Naruto introduce himself. Before last but not least Maruten did the same. The Akimichi wore a brown hat, an orange-white shirt with the kanji for food on the back, and plain black pants. He also had distinctive circular markings on his cheeks and chin.

"Excellent, now we shall begin our first lesson together." Daikoku clapped.

* * *

- **An hour later** -

Their first lesson was well underway. Daikoku-sensei was covering chakra control and its importance. Thankfully, all twelve had awakened their chakra prior to their first day.

It had been an hour and Hana's Ninken had, for the most part, settled down, one was asleep across Hana's feet, the second was sat on its hind legs next to Hana, its Inuzuka master gently scratching the dogs head. The third was curled up in Tri's lap fast asleep. Hana was absolutely baffled by her Ninken's actions, she'd never seen then take to someone so quickly.

"You find something more interesting Miss Inuzuka?" The words jerked her back to attention, her Daikoku and the entire class were looking at here. "Nn…No Sensei," Hana managed to stutter, embarrassed at being caught out.

"Perhaps you'd like to tell the class what could hold your attention more than your lessons?" Daikoku asked. Hana tried to find an answer but before she could Tri spoke. "Don't blame Hana-san Sensei, it's technically my fault." The confused look on the Chūnin's face giving him license to continue. "It's her Ninken Sensei, she's still trying to figure out why they're so friendly towards me. I'm baffled by it too." Daikoku studied the young Uzumaki, ' _If he's lying then he's good at hiding it_ '. "Well in that case then Mr Uzumaki, if you're accepting responsibility then you can do the punishment of sorts. Stand in front of my desk facing the class if you please."

Tri shortly nodded, he gently lifted the Ninken out of his lap and handed it over to Hana, earning him an annoyed mumble from the animal following its unceremonious waking from its nap. Tri made his way to the front and stood next to his teacher. "What do you require of me Sensei?"

"In my hand, I have a leaf, I would like you to demonstrate the leaf concentration exercise I have just described."

"Hai, Sensei. Where would you like me to hold the leaf?" He received his answer as Daikoku placed the leaf on his forehead, the leaf which should fall to the floor instead stuck to Tri's forehead as per the exercise. "Very good. Now let's test your ability to split your concentration," Daikoku commended before placing another leaf, this time on Tri's cheek. Again the leaf stuck in place.

The teacher kept adding more leaves and just like the first two they stuck fast. After a dozen Daikoku stopped. "Fascinating Tri-san, you display remarkable chakra control. Far beyond your years, I'd say. I'm intrigued as to how you've achieved this."

"Practice Sensei, lots of practice. I have abnormally large chakra reserves as is normal for Uzumaki's. It meant my chakra control was bad, so for an hour a day for the past three years I've practised it." Daikoku nodded as he listened to his student. "Ok Tri-san, pass those leaves amongst your classmates before you take your seat again and well done."

"Thank you Sensei," Tri replied as he began handing out the leaves. Hana received her leaf last since Tri sat next to her. After he'd sat down he looked over at her and gave her a wink. "Ok class, you've just seen a demonstration, I'd like you to practise this exercise until lunch. You can practise holding the leaf on your finger first if you wish, but the ultimate aim is to have it stick to your forehead," Daikoku finished with a clap as his new students set to work.

The teachers at the Academy were told to keep an early eye out for potential prodigies. And at the back of his mind, Daikoku wondered whether he had one in Uzumaki Tri. Surveying the rest of his class he could see both Naruto and Itachi already had the leaves stuck to their foreheads.

"Umm, Itachi-san, how are you doing it exactly?" Izumi next to him asked. He turned his head towards her, "It's like a more advanced version of awakening your chakra. You need to pull on the chakra and draw it towards your forehead," Itachi explained before he could continue, however, Tri spoke up. "There's no Tenketsu point in your forehead to send your chakra towards which is why concentration is key." Next Naruto added his own advice. "You need to use the right amount of chakra too, too little and the leaf won't stick. Too much and you'll push the leaf away."

The entire class had listened to the three of them explain the exercise and the faces of many of them seem to brighten as they understood. Over the next ten to fifteen minutes, several more of them managed to get the leaves to stick even if only briefly. Tri, for the most part, had been watching Hana attempt the exercise. His attention was drawn to the desk in front of him when he heard a thud. Looking down, the grey-haired girl Mei had her head on the desk.

Mei jerked up straight as she felt someone sit down on her bench next to her. The Red and Black hair allowing her to identify Tri who leaned his head on his fist as he stared at her. "What's up?" Tri asked her. Mei sighed, "I don't know if I'm doing it right, how am I supposed to tell if I'm channelling my chakra correctly." Tri calmly nodding as she explained her troubles. The Uzumaki heir tapped a finger on his lips, trying to think of a way he could show her. His eyes widened slightly as he thought of a way. "Ok, I think I have a way I can show you. I'm not sure if it will work but we can give it a try," Mei gave him a firm nod. Tri held out his hand, "Give me your hand, Mei-san, we'll form the monkey seal with them," the grey-haired girl suddenly felt nervous, a tinge of red on her cheeks, most of the class was now looking at the two of them. Tri gave her a small reassuring smile, swallowing her nerves she placed her hand on his, his right hand and her left together forming the Monkey hand seal.

"Now what I'm going to do is manipulate my chakra through your chakra network, this might feel weird," the boy said closing his eyes. "Okay.." Mei had barely spoken before his eyes went wide, she could feel his chakra surge up her arm, it soon spread across her entire body. She could feel the heat, it made her feel like she was in a sauna. All of the foreign chakra in her body quickly made its way to her chakra coils. 'So much,' she thought as it surged through her.

"Okay, I think I've learnt your chakra network. Now, I'm going to draw my chakra from your coils to your forehead, I want you to remember how it feels." With that Tri worked chakra from her coils towards her forehead. Daikoku who had until now been watching with great interest stepped forward and held the leaf against Mei's forehead. And there the leaf stayed putting a big smile on her face.

Tri ceased and the leaf glided down onto the desk. "Ok, now I want you to try. Don't worry about how long the leaf sticks for. Just focus on re-creating that feeling." Mei took a deep breath, closed her eyes and concentrated. Some of Tri's own chakra was still laced in with Mei's, with it he could feel how it moved around the girl's network.

"That's it, use a little more chakra to make the connection stronger." Again their Sensei placed the leaf on her forehead and it stuck there for a few seconds before Mei lost her concentration. "That's it, Mei, see you can do it," Daikoku encouraged his student. "Thank you, Sensei," Mei chirped. "And thank you Tri-san."

Her Sensei just nodded while Tri replied, "Your welcome, Mei-san. But I was wondering." Mei gave him a confused but intrigued look. "Could I have my hand back Mei-san?" he asked, another slight smile on his face. Mei quickly looked down and sure enough, their hands were still together in the Monkey seal. She pulled her hand back as she'd received a static shock, her face going bright red. A few chuckled at her expense but Tri only smiled sympathetically.

He channelled chakra into one of the storage seals on his arm and a scroll popped into his hand. He offered the scroll to Mei, "Here, this scroll has a few chakra control exercises you can practice with. Some are easy, others not so much." Mei took the scroll, "Thank you," her voice barely a squeak.

Daikoku was now deeply impressed, for a child to possess control great enough to manipulate his own chakra through another person. He could only shake his head as Tri retook his own seat.

* * *

- **A little while later** -

"Okay class, that'll be all for now. After lunch, meet me outside on the shuriken training ground." Daikoku said to his students as they began filtering their way out. "Tri-san, could I see you for a moment." The Uzumaki just stood by his Sensei's desk and waited until everyone else had left.

"Don't worry you're not in trouble. I'm interested as to just how you've obtained such chakra control. You've been here a matter of hours and you have already displayed better control over your chakra than any student I've ever taught. Now you mentioned you practice your control daily, but it's not enough to explain what I've seen today."

A wide smile on his face as his Sensei's complimentary words rang in his ears. "Your right Sensei, while I technically do only spend an hour a day working on my chakra control. I am kind of cheating on the time issue."  
"Cheating how?" Daikoku asked. Tri formed the Clone hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" (Shadow Clone Technique). A poof of smoke later and there were two Tri's stood next to one another. It quickly made sense to Daikoku, "I see, you're using the memory retention of shadow clones to augment training. How many are you using?"  
"Twenty four for an hour a day." Daikoku was stunned into silence, Kage Bunshin required a great deal of chakra to create. And to create two dozen just to train one specific aspect was astounding.

"Will that be all Sensei?" Tri inquired, dispelling his shadow clone. He only received a nod as his Daikoku sat on the edge of his desk. The Chūnin managed to regain his voice before Tri had left the room, "Are Naruto and Itachi able to create Shadow Clones?" Tri stopped in the doorway, "Not as many. But yes," And with that, he slid the door closed.

* * *

- **The afternoon lesson** -

"Alright class," Daikoku said, welcoming them back. He held three shuriken between the fingers of his right hand. "I expect you've been introduced to wooden shuriken and kunai but here you'll be using the genuine metal ones. Your task is simple enough. Throw the shuriken and hit your mark," he added pointing at the wooden targets down range. As an example, Daikoku threw his three shuriken and struck a target with limited spread.

With his introduction complete, his new class got to it, hundreds of shuriken flying downrange. As Daikoku expected Itachi and Izumi set themselves apart at throwing shuriken. ' _The Uchiha teachings with shuriken bear fruit once again_ ' he thought as he watched the two strike the bulls-eye over and over again. The two seemed to have made it into a game, each trying to best the other.

Despite their little competition, Itachi still found time to give Saki and Kazue some tips. "The arm provides the power, the flick of the wrist provides direction. Work on accuracy first, power comes later." Daikoku nodded at the sound advice one of his Uchiha students provided. Looking around he found Naruto doing the same for Rokurou and Saisu.

"Sensei, is it just me or is there another target behind the tree on the right?" Naruto shouted. Daikoku smiled, he had put the target there, intrigued to see if anyone would notice it and furthermore if any of them could hit it. Yes Naruto-san, there is a thirteenth target behind the tree. Anyone who can hit it from where your standing gets a commendation."

"But Sensei, its hidden behind a tree?" Saki asked. "Precisely Saki-san, advanced Shurikenjutsu allows for ways to get shuriken around corners. Same for kunai."

"How high off the ground is the target Sensei?" Itachi asked making Daikoku smile, he really wanted to see If anybody could hit the mark. "It's eight feet off the ground at a 16° vertical angle," his Sensei replied.

Itachi nodded, with a single shuriken in each hand. He threw the first from his left hand. The way he threw it meant it was travelling slightly to the left away from the tree. Most of the students looked confused.

Then Itachi threw the second from his right hand, it travelled much faster than the first, quickly catching up and smashing off the first. The collision re-directed the second shuriken massively to the right, around the tree where they heard a dull thud. Daikoku shunshined forward to check and sure enough, Itachi had hit the mark.

Shunshining back Daikoku patted Itachi's shoulder. "Well done Itachi-san." He turned to face the rest of the group. "As Itachi has just demonstrated, you can re-direct shuriken around trees and other potential obstacles. To do this, you need to able to mentally solve collision equations and impact vectors. Of course, should you carry a Fūton element affinity, you could simply throw the shuriken through the tree." Daikoku finished.

Naruto shared a look and a slight grin with Tri, the blonde raised an eyebrow, silently inviting him to do just that. Tri gave the slightest shake of the head. The three had previously agreed not to display their abilities with elemental chakra.

In the end, several more of them tried to hit the hidden target. Izumi hit her mark, Naruto barely hit it while Tri missed by two millimetres much to Naruto's mirth. And at the end of the day, as their lesson drew to a close, as promised, Daikoku gave an official commendation to Itachi, Izumi and Naruto. He also awarded one to Tri for his helping Mei in the morning. After which he dismissed them until tomorrow.

The twelve of them broke into smaller groups, having conversations amongst themselves. Hana, Mei, Keiko, Saisu and Izumi all decided to go get some food before heading home. Hana turned around, intending to invite Tri, Naruto and Itachi. Only to find that the three were already jumping across the rooftops towards the training grounds. "Where do you suppose they're off to?" Hana heard Izumi say over her shoulder. The Inuzuka grinned at the Uchiha, "Why don't we go find out."

The rest of their little group soon agreed to tail their mysterious classmates. "Okay boys, find Tri," Hana instructed the Haimaru Brothers. The young Ninken shot off in pursuit.

While they chased off after them, Daikoku was walking into the office of the Academy headmaster. "Daikoku-san, what can I do for you." The teacher bowed slightly. "Sora-sama, you instructed us to inform you if we found any exceptional students. Sora seemed surprised, "It's only been a day, are you saying you've found one already?"

"Not quite Sora-sama, I think I've found three."

* * *

- **Konoha Training Fields** -

The new students had managed to track the trio of Tri, Itachi and Naruto to the training fields furthest from the village. They could hear a commotion up ahead, it almost sounded like a battle.

They walked out into a clearing before hearing a voice. " **Suiton: Teppōdama** " (Water Release: Gunshot). There was no time for them to react, the ball of water was heading straight for them. Then a figure appeared in front of them, who were they were they couldn't tell, they flashed through hand seals. " **Fūton: Ressenpu** " (Wind Release: Violent Whirlwind). The ball of water was struck by a powerful gust of wind, pushing it away from the new arrivals.

"Damn it Naruto, you need to pay attention." Itachi near shouted, the irritation evident in his voice as he appeared next to the group. Naruto soon appeared next to Itachi scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin on his face. "Yeah sorry about that," he apologised to no one in particular.

The group had now through the power of deduction gathered that it was Tri who'd stopped them getting wet. "Please don't tell me you didn't know they were there," Tri asked in an accusing tone. Naruto tried to look at least slightly guilty, he failed miserably. Shaking his head in disgust Itachi turned to the group. "Our apologies Izumi, Hana, Saisu, Keiko, Mei."

The group struggled to register his apology, they were still caught up in the display of elemental Ninjutsu. Keiko snapped out of it first, why her hands on her hips, "So, any reason we walk into a clearing only to find a water bullet shot at us?"

"It's because my baka brother can't aim his Jutsu Keiko-san," Tri bluntly replied. An evil looking grin spread across Itachi's face. "We were sparing Keiko-san. All of you, please feel free to join us."

Hana caught on to his meaning first. "Ninken, get him," she ordered pointing at the blonde, the three Haimaru brothers shooting towards a wide-eyed Naruto, Keiko and Saisu quickly joining them much to Tri and Itachi's delight, both laughing as Naruto was chased around the clearing. And they continued chasing him for nearly at full speed for nearly fifteen minutes.

The chased and the chasee's all collapsed on the ground, gasping for air. Tri formed half of the Dog Hand seal before pouring a bottle of water on his left hand, the water formed a ball around it [ **1** ] which he held out for the Ninken, the three practically jumping into it to quench their thirst. "Thank you, Tri-san," Hana said, getting a thumbs up with his spare hand in return. With the dogs watered, Tri began pulling more bottles of water from one of his storage seals and passed them around, apart from Naruto's who instead had the bottle bounce off his head.

"Ow, what'd you do that for?" the blonde complained. "To show you that you still need to work on your positional awareness. Baka!" Tri shot back. "Oh come on, are you still complaining about that."

"Yes, Kami forbid if you had used a Katon Ninjutsu," Itachi replied.

"So, shall we leave you three to continue arguing or are we going to confront the elephant in the room that is you using elemental Ninjutsu?" Keiko asked the three of them. The three looked at each other, Tri nodded, Naruto shrugged his shoulders leaving the talking to the Uchiha. "Yes, the three of us can manipulate our chakra elements. I trust we can rely on your discretion on the matter?"

* * *

- **Three months later** -

It was the end of another day at the Academy and the twelve students of Daikoku had all become good friends. But in particular, the eight of Tri, Naruto, Itachi, Izumi, Hana, Keiko, Mei and Saisu had become near inseparable. Together at the Academy, outside they trained and hanged out together.

It had only taken the first week for Tri, Itachi and Naruto to be given the 'prodigy' titles. The bestowing of said title made for a proud Fugaku and Mikoto whereas Minato and Kushina seemed totally unaware and if they did know they were ignoring it.

The progress of the other five had increased as a result of training alongside the prodigal three. Hana was beginning to display an affinity for Taijutsu alongside her Ninken and chakra control. Keiko had her clan Jutsu and Genjutsu. Izumi for Genjutsu and Shurikenjutsu. Mei who's progress in chakra control had just kept accelerating with Tri's help. Finally Saisu for Kenjutsu and Taijutsu.

All had progressed enough that the prodigal three introduced them to their chakra nature affinities and had begun showing them how to mould it. Although progress on that front was very slow.

When the prodigal three had first joined the Academy, they had expected to just go through the motions, graduate and be done with it. But what they had found was nought but a pleasant surprise. Meeting new people, making new friends and learning from them. All three were loving life in the Academy.

* * *

End Chapter

 **[1] The five basic elemental nature transformations have a hand seal that commonly affiliated with it:**

 **Tiger: Katon, Doton**

 **Snake: Doton, Raiton**

 **Bird: Fūton**

 **Dog: Suiton**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Graduation

* * *

Minato had a problem, he had three students about to graduate. Keeping them in the Academy any longer would be a waste of their potential if the reports were to be believed, they were ready to be bestowed with the rank of Genin. The problem lay in that he couldn't find a Jōnin to become their Sensei.

Kakashi had been his first choice, but for some reason he wasn't interested, something which surprised Minato given the interest he had shown in training Rezano. His next choice had been Maito Gai since the four seemed to know each other, but he also ruled himself out. The Taijutsu master felt he was not yet ready for a Genin team. He'd personally asked several others, but they too had politely turned it down.

The solution to finding a Jōnin instructor continued to elude him as he heard a knock at the door. "Enter," he said not looking up from the sheets of paper laid out on his desk. "Hokage-sama," a female voice spoke. Looking up he found Mikoto Uchiha, wife of the Uchiha clan leader Fugaku standing in front of him. "Mikoto-san, what can I do for you?" Minato said leaning back in his chair stretching his arms.

She lifted the stack of papers in her hands, "These are for you to review Hokage-sama." Minato's face fell when he realised it was more paperwork, "Thank you Mikoto-san, you can just put them on top of the pile." He replied pointing to the edge of his desk. Looking to her left, her eyes fell on multiple stacks of papers. "Any pile in particular?" a hint of sympathy in her voice. "Take your pick," he sighed as he looked back down at the papers on his desk, adding another one to the stack to his left.

"Something eating at you Minato?"

"I'm trying to find someone to be the Jōnin Sensei for our sons. Their graduation is around the corner and I still can't find one." The frustration evident in his voice. Mikoto stepped around the desk to get a view of the papers strewn everywhere. "The ones in the pile are the those I've disregarded or have already turned it down, Everything else is who's left," Minato explained.

Mikoto spent several minutes looking through all those already in the pile and then at those on the desk. Then a name jumped out at her, it wasn't in the pile or on the desk. "Minato, have you considered Shiranui-san?"

That got his attention, "Genma?" Again Minato lent back in his chair, pondering the possibility before shaking his head. "No, he's not of the required rank."

"Oh come now Minato, he's a Jōnin in all but name. If it truly represents a problem then just promote him." Mentally Minato knew she was right, that the Council hadn't seen fit to promote him already was laughable.

The more thought Minato gave it, the more it made sense. He was of the right age, mid to late 20's. He possessed the necessary experience, he'd fought in the previous world war alongside him. He had the temperament needed, it all fit. He made his decision. "ANBU," at his call a masked figure appeared in front of him on one knee.

"Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"Find Shiranui Genma and bring him to me." With only a nod the ANBU vanished in a veil of leaves.

It was barely 20 minutes before a knock on the door signalled his arrival. "You called Hokage-sama." He asked having let himself in. "Yes, Genma. I'll jump straight to it, how'd you like to become a full Jōnin?" The bandana-clad man raised an eyebrow, "Sure. What's the catch?"

"Genma-san, what are you doing for the next year or two?" Mikoto asked him, the Tokubetsu Jōnin was only getting more confused. "I'm a bodyguard to one of the strongest Shinobi of our time. So not a great deal," Genma deadpanned.

Mikoto chuckled while Minato looked slightly embarrassed. "Genma-san. Have you ever given any thought to being a Jōnin Sensei?" The look he gave her made her wonder if she'd grown another head. "You're kidding? Right?" The looks they both gave him told him they weren't. "I..I can't say I've given it any thought," he admitted.

Mikoto stepped forward and handed him three a folder, seeing the confused look he gave her she explained. "It's the files for the three Genin we think you'd do well with." Genma opened the folder, he fully expected to find three cobbled together rookie Genin. He didn't expect the three pictures that greeted him. Looking up at Minato, "You'd entrust these three to me?" Both nodded in reply.

Genma was conflicted, he wanted the promotion to full Jōnin, he'd seen his former Genin teammate Gai made Jōnin in recent years. And yet despite the efforts of Minato and others to get him his promotion it still hadn't been given. Plus he wasn't been offered just any Genin, he was being offered the 'Prodigal Three' as they'd been dubbed, each was an heir to a Konoha clan.

"Can I think on this?" he asked, again Minato nodded.

* * *

Genma was sat on a park bench just staring into the distance, his mind going over the pros and cons of what he was being offered. He had been there for 15-20 minutes as someone sat down next to him. He looked up to find one of his former Genin teammates grinning at him. "Genma-kun, why the long face?" Gai asked in the loud boisterous voice only he possessed.

He only moved the folder in his hand, drawing Gai's attention to it. "I see, you've been offered the chance to train the youthful fires of Konoha's next generation."

"Yep, but."

"But you don't know if you've got what it takes to be a Jōnin Sensei?" Gai guessed, another nod from Genma telling him he was correct. "I know you and Ebisu were always interested in having Genin teams but I never considered myself teacher material," Genma said, the thoughts in his head running out of his mouth.

"How many of us truly consider ourselves ready to become Sensei. But ready or otherwise we need to ensure the flames of youth burn strong in those who follow us," Gai proclaimed with determination in his eyes. Suddenly Gai snatched the folder Genma held weakly in his hand. Opening it to see who he'd been offered Gai just burst out laughing. Genma just stared at him as kept laughing, "Gai?"

Finally pulling himself together, "Oh, Genma-kun. You won't have to do much hand-holding with these three," Gai explained, wiping away a tear. Genma gave him a look that screamed explain. "You won't have to do much in the way of training them, they have their own extensive training regime. I should know, I helped train them. You just need to guide them through the beginning of their Shinobi careers. If you were still their Sensei two years from now I'd be surprised. These three aren't ordinary Genin. And if you don't believe me then test them." Gai's words struck a chord with Genma, he had of course along with many others heard of the potential the three possessed.

"Gai, do you think I can do this?" Gai's reply was a toothy grin and a big thumbs up. Genma stood and patted his friend on the shoulder as he began to walk away, "Thanks, Gai."

"Come in," Minato said. He was looking out the window, his mind on Genma and his decision, it had been about an hour since he'd left. Spinning around in his chair to see who'd stopped by he found Genma stood in front of his desk. "I do this, I make Jōnin?" Minato nodded, "You need to be a Jōnin to take a Genin team. So they can't refuse your promotion this time."

"Okay, then I accept," with that Genma bowed and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

 **-A week later-**

Daikoku was beside himself with joy, three of the finest students he'd ever had were graduating. The 'Prodigal Three' as they'd been dubbed were to become Genin and as their Academy Sensei, it was his final duty to present them the mark of a full Shinobi.

They were all present at that year's graduation ceremony. Tri, Itachi and Naruto were the only ones in their class to graduate, they were the only first years to graduate. The written test had been a breeze and the practical exam was too easy for the three of them. The graduation tests had several new records thanks to the three of them.

"The graduates of class 14," Sora, the Academy headmaster shouted to the crowd. "Step forward Uzumaki Tri, Uchiha Itachi and Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto." The three boys stepped forward. Naruto surveyed the crowd. Tsunade was there, Hiruzen was there, Gai was there with tears of joy streaming down his face, their fellow classmates were all there, Itachi's parents were both there. But the distinctive blonde and red hair of his parents was decidedly absent.

The sadness came bubbling back up to the surface as his face fell. _'Kaa-chan said she'd be here'_ , her assurance to them both the night before ran through his mind over and over. And Tri noticed, Itachi noticed, Mikoto noticed, those who'd actually come to see the two brothers graduate noticed. Naruto quickly swallowed his emotions as Daikoku stepped forward.

"It has been an utter pleasure to have you three in my class. You've shown an ability far beyond your years, in a way you helped teach your own classmates and you've even taught me a thing or two. I consider it an honour to have been your Sensei." Daikoku said to his three students, all three bowing to their Sensei.

"Uzumaki Tri, step forward," Sora again shouted. In Daikoku's hand was the mark of a full Shinobi, a Hitai-ate. "Uzumaki Tri, as your Academy Sensei I hereby proclaim you ready to receive your Hitai-ate and bestow upon you the rank of Genin." The two shook hands as Tri received his Hitai-ate.

"Uchiha Itachi, step forward."  
"Uchiha Itachi, as your Academy Sensei I hereby proclaim you ready to receive your Hitai-ate and bestow upon you the rank of Genin." Again the two shook hands as Itachi was handed his forehead protector.

Naruto was still scanning the crowd, desperately searching for red. "Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, step forward."  
"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, as your Academy Sensei I hereby proclaim you ready to receive your Hitai-ate and bestow upon you the rank of Genin." Naruto was just able to say, "Thank you, Sensei," putting on a brave face.

Naruto re-joined the line of new Genin as Sora stood in front of them all. "You are now full members of the Shinobi forces of Konohagakure. You may put on your Hitai-ate's, wear them with pride." The headmaster waited for the Genin to place them where they wished before continuing. "All of you are to return here tomorrow morning at 9:00 am where you'll be told your teams and your Jōnin Sensei. [ **1** ]

And with that, the ceremony was over. Naruto was distraught and Tri was fuming. "Itachi, can you cover for us," Tri slowly asked, bringing his anger under control. The young Uchiha sombrely replied, "Ok, but you know that they've all noticed, yes?"

"I do," was his quick reply as once again led Naruto away. Tri and Naruto had never needed to explain it to those who'd taught them these past years. Down the years they'd all seen the crestfallen look in Naruto's eyes, the bright shine his eyes had when he was younger had long since been dulled. And they all now knew of its origins.

Itachi made his way over to those who'd come to see him and the two sons of the Hokage. Tsunade gave him a questioning look to which he gave a sad nod in reply. The blonde Sannin sighing as Sasuke launched himself into his older brothers arms with a shout, "Onii-chan! Can I see your headband?"

Itachi knelt down to let his brother touch the metal plate that formed the centrepiece of the Hitai-ate he'd wrapped around his forehead. After he'd stood again he was engulfed in a hug, "Congratulations Itachi-chan," his mother proudly said. "Thank you, Kaa-chan." While he received a warm smile from his father which he gladly returned.

The sound of a babies laughter grabbed his attention. Turning his head he saw a woman with long red hair with a pushchair in front of her. The pushchair had a young girl, perhaps two years old, again with red hair. Holding onto the pushchair was a young boy, perhaps four or five years old with bright yellow hair and whisker-like marks across his cheeks.

Itachi recognised all three, he'd met them before.

"Kaa-chan?" the blonde child asked, "Where are Naruto-nii-chan and Tri-nii-chan?" Kushina was looked around the crowd, searching for the distinctive bright yellow and black/ red hair of her two eldest. "I don't know Reza-chan," she answered glumly, "I guess we'll see them at home, we need to continue your training anyway," she added before leaving, her youngest son in tow. "Aww, but Kaa-chan, I wanted to see their headbands," Rezano whined.

Itachi just watched, a sense of disbelief falling over him. He knew that Kushina knew him personally, they'd met numerous times and he was standing not fifteen feet in front of her. Yet she didn't even notice him if she had she could simply have asked him where her sons had disappeared too.

And after what he'd just witnessed, he understood, just a little of what it must be like for his best friends on a daily basis. A part of Itachi was sort of glad Kushina didn't notice him, what would he actually say? _'Sorry Kushina-san, they were really upset because you weren't here, so they left?_

It made Itachi feel slightly guilty.

Furthermore, Itachi couldn't decide what was worse. Being late and missing the entire ceremony or not turning up at all? Regardless, he didn't have the heart to tell them that their Kaa-chan only turned up after they'd left.

* * *

It had been several hours since the graduation ceremony and the sun was beginning to set. Tri and Naruto were stood outside their front door. Naruto knuckles were white as he gripped the door handle with a deep sense of trepidation of over what might happen when he opened it. "Just go upstairs Naruto, I'll deal with any talking." The blonde nodded despondently before pushing the handle down and opening the door.

The hall was dark and quiet, a line of light illuminating from the bottom of the door that leads to the front room/ dining room. Naruto quickly shed his sandals and as quietly as possible rushed up the stairs. It wasn't quite quiet enough however as the door opened and Kushina stuck her head into the hallway. Tri had just stepped onto the first stair, hand on the bannister. "Tri-chan, dinners ready for you both when you want it," she said quietly.

"We've already eaten, Kaa-san," Tri replied coldly. Kushina visibly winced at his tone and dropping of the chan suffix as he walked up the stairs without another word. Kushina just stood there in the doorway, she had intended to apologise as they ate. _'I'd better go up and apologise to th….'_

"Kaa-chan!" she heard Rezano exclaim in pain. Ducking back into the dining room and rushing to his side. "I cut myself Kaa-chan!" he whimpered, the offending knife with a little blood lying on the table. Kushina took his hand in hers, opening his palm she found nought but a red line, _'The Kyūbi's chakra already heals him, I'll need to tell Minato and Jiraiya of this'_.

In the commotion, her intention of apologising to her two eldest was utterly forgotten.

* * *

 **-The next day** -

The time for ceaseless training was over, sort of. The training would continue but their childhood was for all intents and purposes over. The promotion to Genin saw you classified as an adult, age was irrelevant, they were 9 years old and yet were adults.

The past year had seen even greater levels of improvement for the 'Prodigal Three'. Itachi's three tomoe eyes were something to behold, Naruto's combination of Taijutsu and Kenjutsu was devastating while Tri's chakra control and Fūinjutsu defied belief.

They were waiting in one of the larger classrooms at the Academy, they were awaiting the announcement of their new Sensei. The headmaster Sora was in the midst of announcing the new teams, most of the new Genin had been called and had already departed.

"Next team consists of Uzumaki Tri, Uchiha Itachi and Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto." Naruto fist-pumped at the three of them being teamed together. "You are now Team 12, your Jōnin Sensei is Shiranui Genma."

"Genma-san?" both Tri and Naruto said. "You know him, Tri, Naruto?" Itachi asked. Tri nodded, "Yeah, he's one of Tou-san's Guard Platoon."

The three were still musing amongst themselves when they heard a voice. "So, do you want to continue talking among yourselves, or do you want to get started?" In front of them was a man in his mid-twenties with shoulder length brown hair, his Hitai-ate was wrapped around his head in a bandanna. His outfit was the standard Konoha Uniform complete with flak jacket and in his mouth was his trademark Senbon.

Tri grinned, he'd met Genma on a few previous occasions and he'd decided he like the man. He'd found him to be a calm and collected individual, and his presence on the Hokage Guard Platoon was a testament to his ability. "We're ready Genma-Sensei! Naruto proudly proclaimed. "I'll be the judge of that," the newly promoted Jōnin rebutted. "Training Ground 3, twenty minutes."

With that Genma vanished in a swirl of leaves, as a result, he missed his three new students Shunshin out of the room. Training Ground 3 was one the three knew the location of but had never used it.

It took Genma about ten minutes to arrive. Leaning against one of three wooden posts positioned in the centre of a glade that dominated the training ground. _'That should take them about another ten min…._ ' His train of thought was derailed and he had to clamp his teeth together to stop his senbon from falling out as three figures appeared in front of him. _'Ok, I'll admit, that's impressive'_ he thought.

"Not bad, not bad at all. Maybe you aren't all hype after all," he commended them as he pulled a pair of bells out of his pouch. Minato had instructed him on the ins and outs of the bell test. The looks on the faces of his Genin suggested they did too. "Are you familiar with these bells and their purpose?" he asked. Naruto nodded, "Yeah, Hiruzen-Jiji explained it to us ages ago." Genma noticed the brief flickers of irritation on Tri and Itachi's faces, again he was impressed. _'Interesting, both seem to understand the importance of information'_.

"Good, then I shan't have to explain what your task for today is," he said, tying the bells to the pouch to the left of his tailbone. "Stipulations Genma-Sensei?" Tri asked. "None," was the reply. "In that case then, Genma-Sensei, we ask that you not reveal what you learn of our abilities to Tou-san," Tri asked. Genma furrowed his eyebrows at the strange request, _'What could they know that they don't want Hokage-sama to know?'_ letting his curiosity get the better of him, Genma slowly inclined his head, deciding to see where it led.

Genma assumed a Taijutsu stance as the Prodigal three assumed a formation. Naruto stood front and centre, Tri was a few feet behind and slightly to his siblings left while Itachi stood further back slightly to Naruto's right. "Prospective Team 12, your Genin Exam begins now!"

As Genma expected Naruto shot forward straight towards him, the two Tantō remaining in their sheaths. Tri had also begun moving, except he'd taken a curved trajectory that would eventually bring him to Genma's side while Itachi was stood perfectly still. Deciding to focus on the two coming towards him he shot towards Tri. If Naruto was coming towards him head on it meant he was the dominant Taijutsu user amongst them. Genma pulled a kunai from his pouch, Tri did the same but his seemed to simply appear in his hand.

The two kunai clashed in a flicker of sparks and the grinding of metal, Genma kicked out at Tri's ribs with a leg forcing him back, the Jōnin jumped to his right as Naruto arrived with a kick of his own aimed at the back of his knees. Seeing an opportunity to strike Genma threw his kunai at Naruto only for it to be knocked off course after Tri threw his.

The Uzumaki forced Genma to draw another kunai to block the half-dozen shuriken cast towards him. Naruto followed the shuriken in, this time a Tantō drawn. Genma threw a pair of shuriken of his own stopping two of Naruto's while he blocked the remaining four giving him the time to block Naruto's thrust with his Tantō. Deflecting the blade to the left he drove his right fist into Naruto's face knocking him to the ground.

Another flurry of shuriken from Tri prevented him from continuing his attack. He used to lull to check his surroundings, that's when he noticed Itachi was gone. It was then that his senses screamed danger, he ducked just in time as foot whistled past where his head had just been. _'Lesson one: Don't take your eyes off the Uchiha'_ Genma thought as he was forced to block a follow-up kick from Itachi, his momentum spinning him round allowing him to use his other leg.

It was barely sixty seconds in and Genma was forced to use the senbon in his mouth, shouting it at an oncoming Naruto. Tri, however, was approaching from his blind side, he was forced to Kawarimi lest Tri reach the bells. Genma ended up in the treeline, hidden by some bushes about thirty feet away. _'Now, how will you find me?'_ he wondered as his Genin stood where they were.

"You have him, Itachi?" Naruto whispered. "Yes, thirty-three feet to Tri's 4 O'clock," Itachi whispered back, his Sharingan able to distinguish Genma's chakra amongst the greenery. "Naruto, Itachi, we can't rush him, he has the advantage. Naruto, you swing right, Itachi you swing left, force him out of the trees towards me." Both nodded as they shunshining away.

Genma figured they'd both gone looking for him and he was preparing to strike out at an alone Tri. Two voices put paid to that.

" **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu."** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

" **Suiton: Teppōdama."** ( Water Release: Gunshot) From his left came a large fireball and his right a smaller ball of water. Genma had a problem, for obvious reasons he couldn't go left or right, if he moved back further into the trees then Naruto and Itachi would be on him immediately. He couldn't Kawarimi, Tri was stood next to his log and he'd only prepared the one, he didn't think he'd need more than that. The only option left was to push forward out into the open.

With that Genma rushed forward from his hiding place. The balls of fire and water clashing, a great cloud of steam chasing the newly promoted Jōnin out of the treeline. And it's there that he ran into his next surprise. **"Fūton: Ressenpu."** (Wind Release: Violent Whirlwind) The sudden gust of wind forced Genma to channel chakra to his feet to keep him still. _'Gah. His Fūton Jutsu is holding me stationary, how can all three of them already possess nature Ninjutsu'_.

And looking over his shoulders, sure enough, Naruto and Itachi were taking positions either side of him. The three were surrounding him in a triangle. Tri's wind not letting up, Naruto redrew a Tantō while a flicker of movement brought his attention to the hand signs Itachi was weaving.

" **Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu,"** (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique) a stream of six fireballs formed an arc between Itachi and Tri as they sped towards Genma. Naruto was still stationary and that provided him with a window to escape the imminent danger. He let the fireballs get closer before he released the chakra holding him stationary. He allowed the gust of wind to carry him away from Itachi's Jutsu.

And not a moment too soon because the moment the small fireballs entered the wind stream they flared in size and lost their shape turning instead into a stream of flames. Now that he was far enough away he noticed that Tri's vision of him was obscured by the flames. So he Kawarimied right in front of the Uzumaki, catching him completely off-guard long enough to slam a fist into his stomach. Tri doubled over as what air left in him rushed out. Genma kicked him away before turning his attention to the other two.

Wanting to deal with Itachi first, Genma pulled six senbon from his pouch and threw them at Naruto in an uneven pattern. Even as he rushed towards Itachi he kept throwing more senbon towards the blonde. Naruto was forced to dodge left and right massively slowing him down as Genma reached Itachi. After reading their files he knew the Uchiha was better at Taijutsu than Tri but wasn't the same standard as Naruto. It meant Genma began to push him back as Itachi sacrificed ground to maintain form.

Genma was forced off the offensive with a roll to his left as Naruto finally arrived with a wide horizontal swing with a tantō. He lashed out with a quick kick to the side of Naruto's standing knee leaving him in a heap on the ground. A few more senbon aimed at Itachi meant he couldn't go on the offensive either. Genma jumped away, it was about time he moved beyond Taijutsu.

Weaving hand seals before pulling out kunai with fine metal wire tied to them. With several in one hand, he threw them, **"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu,"** (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique). Out of his mouth, he spewed fire that raced along the wires. Itachi was able to deflect two of the kunai away with shuriken but he and Naruto were forced to dodge those that remained, a few licks of flame caught one of Naruto's ankles. Naruto's nose scrunched up as the smell of singed clothing hit him.

Wanting to keep his Genin moving, Genma made more hand seals, **"Katon: Endan,"** (Fire Release: Flame Bullet), firing fist-sized fireballs one after the other at the both of them. Ensuring that neither Itachi or Naruto would be able to engage him he spared a glance in Tri's direction. And like Itachi earlier, Genma found his Genin had again vanished. The briefest of flickers on the edge of his vision was the only warning he got as a knee slammed into his side. _'The speed! I didn't feel him coming at all'_. Before he could move away Genma felt a piece of paper pressed into the back of his neck. "Fūin," was all he heard before Tri backed off of his own accord, his left hand forming the Seal of Confrontation. [ **2** ]

Naruto and Itachi were now speeding towards him, he needed to get some distance between himself and the three of them. His Kawarimi log was now unattended so he channelled chakra in preparation but he couldn't. He simply couldn't focus his chakra, he couldn't draw on it much less mould it. He was quickly surrounded on all sides.

The fight was over, all his Genin needed to do was reach out and take the bells. Sure he could call on his Taijutsu but they'd soon overwhelm him. Genma grinned as he went into his pouch for another senbon, but as his hand felt around for one he couldn't hear the bells. Confused he looked down at the pouch to find the bells gone. He looked around at each of his Genin, he found both bells in held in Tri's hand.

"When'd you get them from me?"  
"When I kneed you Sensei," Tri calmly replied. Genma's grin only widened. Internally he was a little embarrassed, it had taken them less than five minutes for them to retrieve them. "The seal?"  
"It's a chakra suppression seal, you'll have noticed you couldn't manipulate chakra," Tri explained. "Alright. Congratulations Team 12, you pass the Genin test," Genma congratulated them. "Tri, could you remove this seal please,"  
"Hai, Sensei," Tri said as Genma knelt down and held his hair out of the way. With a few flicks with a brush, the seal dissolved from his neck. "So you know Fūinjutsu," Genma stated rhetorically, Tri nodded. "Okay, you can elaborate later. Now go retrieve the equipment you've used."

While they retrieved the kunai they'd used it gave Genma a moment to think. _'Gai wasn't kidding, these three are not normal Genin. They displayed ability I'd expect from a low to middling Chūnin.'_

It only took them a few seconds to retrieve all their equipment back, Naruto had even gathered his senbon, taking back his senbon, "Thank you Naruto," the blonde nodded and smiled. "Now, all of you take a seat," he invited, waving a hand at the grass covered ground.

"Okay, now that we definitely know that I'll be your Sensei then let's do the introductions. My name is Shiranui Genma, I'm a member of the Hokage Guard Platoon. I don't like many things and instead of hating, I'm utterly indifferent. I have hobbies but my duties mean I have little time for them. I specialise in senbon and Ninjutsu," Genma told his team. He lifted his arm to point at Itachi, "You next."

Itachi had an unsure look on his face but nevertheless began to speak. "My name is Uchiha Itachi, I don't like many things nor do I hate many things. My hobbies include training and spending time with my friends. I specialise in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu and Shurikenjutsu and my nature affinity is Katon.

Next came Tri. "My name is Uzumaki Tri, my likes include my family and friends, my hates are few but include a certain white-haired old man and perverts. My hobbies are the same as Itachi's and I specialise in Ninjutsu, Fūinjutsu, pure speed and I've aptitudes for medical Ninjutsu, Shurikenjutsu and Genjutsu. My nature affinities are Katon, Fūton and Suiton." He got a confused look from Naruto at his mention of Genjutsu but he got a baffled look from Genma at his affinities.

"My name is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto. My likes are also my family and friends and I don't yet hate anything. My hobbies are also training and spending time with my friends. I specialise in Taijutsu and Kenjutsu with aptitudes in medical Ninjutsu and Fūinjutsu. My nature affinities are Suiton, Doton and Fūton. Naruto had only just finished talking when Genma thrust a piece of chakra paper in the faces of both brothers.

And sure enough, Tri's split down the middle, half burning, the other half becoming soggy. Naruto's also splitting down the middle, half becoming soggy and other half becoming dirt. "Huh, what'd a you know, you actually do have three affinities each," the disbelief still evident in Genma's voice.

Their Sensei crossed his arms and closed his eyes, he was silent for several seconds before he opened his eyes again. "Okay, now I want you three to explain. Explain how you display skill-sets and ability far beyond what brand new Genin should be capable of. Even the once in a generation geniuses don't display such ability."

The three looked at each other and each nodded. Tri formed the clone seal **, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,"** (Shadow Clone Technique). And next to Tri appeared an identical clone who waved at Genma. "You know of the Kage Bunshin's ability to transmit what it learns back to the original," the clone asked. Genma nodded in understanding, "Okay so you use Kage Bunshin to speed up the learning process, how many can you each create?"

"I have the least chakra amongst us but I can still create 6 and still be able to personally train effectively. I believe I will soon be able to maintain 7. Tri and Naruto, both being descendants of the Uzumaki clan possess far greater chakra reserves. Naruto can currently maintain 25 and Tri who had more chakra than anyone else I've ever met can easily maintain over 40."

"But while I and Naruto do have more chakra to use, we both feel that Itachi has the potential to simply be a better shinobi than either of us. We can't think of why else he keeps up with our rate of learning so easily." Tri added. Internally Genma's mind was reeling, _'6-7? 25? 40+? I'm only able to create three at any time'_

"Explain your Fūinjutsu skills, since you don't retain physical improvements when clones dispel."

"You are correct Sensei, but Fūinjutsu is a combination of mental memory and muscle memory. Mental memory for learning about seals, muscle memory for drawing them. Similar to how you perform hand seals for a Jutsu without having to think."

' _They are intelligent as well as talented'_. "Tri, where are you with your Fūinjutsu?" the Jōnin asked, bracing himself for the reply. "I'm currently at level 6 Sensei, I believe I will be ready for level 7 soon," Tri responded. "Who teaches you?" Genma assumed it would be Minato and Kushina given their statuses as Fūinjutsu masters, again he found himself confused as Tri replied. "Bar guidance from Hiruzen-sama, I teach myself Sensei."

Again Genma was silent, he was having to take in so much information that didn't in anyway seem true. If his senbon weren't made of metal, he'd have bitten it in half by now.

* * *

Genma had dismissed his Genin team until tomorrow, he walked through the village in a half-daze. They'd spent the day discussing what the three knew so Genma wouldn't be wasting time trying to teach them something they already knew. Over the next fortnight or so he had expected to teach them tree climbing and squad formations. But he didn't have to.

He hadn't intended to teach them how to manipulate elemental chakra at all but he didn't have to do that either. The only thing he was sure he could pass onto them was experience.

He only became aware of his surroundings again when he dropped himself into a sofa, looking around he quickly noticed he was in the Jōnin waiting room. It was a large room filled with numerous sofas, many of which were occupied by Konoha Jōnin who were passing the time in their own ways. With this room, it allowed Jōnin to be easily findable if they were needed, most prominently in case of emergencies.

Kakashi was on a sofa opposite him and as per usual had one of his Icha Icha novels in hand, studying the masked man for a moment, he'd always wondered how he was able to read the thing properly while always paying attention to his surroundings and make no mistake, he was paying attention. _'Perhaps that why he re-reads them constantly, he learns something new on each re-read since he's splitting his attention'_. He was brought back to attention by a giggle from the very same man. Genma briefly shuddered before staring off into space again.

It could have five minutes, it might have been twenty, Genma didn't know. What he did know was that he was dragged back to reality by someone sitting down next to him. Looking to his left he saw a grinning Gai staring back at him. Genma looked ahead of him again, "You knew didn't you, you knew how good they are." Gai joined him in staring at the far wall. "I did, remarkable aren't they, I knew words wouldn't quite be enough so I let them display their fires of youth instead."

While his eyes never left his book, Kakashi was listening to every word Genma and Gai said. He knew Genma had taken the 'Prodigal Three'. He'd been offered them himself but had immediately rejected the offer. In his own words, _'I don't have time to raise children'_. When the copycat Ninja wasn't on a mission, he was usually Rezano's personal guard. Nonetheless, his fellow Jōnin's words intrigued him. _I wonder how good they are, Genma's not one to be easily impressed'_.

"I have to agree with you, Gai. They've been Genin for barely a day and I'm already considering whether to forward them for the Chūnin Exams in Kumo next year. The necessary skill sets they already possess, all I can give them is advice and experience."

"You feel they can compete in the Chūnin exams?" Gai wondered. "Yes, by the time they roll around I intend to have them desensitised." Gai nodded, the greatest problem for most Genin competing in the Chūnin exams is that they weren't used to killing.

They were Ninja, but they were still children. But while they were still children, they were Ninja.

* * *

End Chapter

 **[1] - I never really understood why there was no official ceremony of sorts when new Genin graduate from the Academy, they're just so casual about it.**

 **[2] - The seal of Confrontation is a one-handed hand seal which looks like a half-ram/ tiger. As it's name implies the SOC is a symbol of combat but can also be used to concentrate chakra for things such as Fūinjutsu.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Desensitisation

* * *

Genma, Jōnin sensei for Genin Team 12 was heading for Konoha's main gate. It had been three months since he'd taken charge of his team and he had to admit he'd enjoyed it. His team acted maturely in their tasks, took nothing for granted and didn't let up in their training despite their official duties.

The past twelve weeks had seen Team 12 complete 21 D-Rank and 2 C-Rank missions alongside their substantial training regime which hadn't let up. They'd earned themselves a reputation for their exemplary professionalism and fast completion times. He'd not have to deal with the complaints that all new Genin seemed to have with D-Rank missions, much to the ire of other Jōnin Sensei. He did feel that while Naruto wanted to complain about painting fences, pulling weeds, walking dogs and catching that infamous cat, he was kept in line by the other two.

But despite Genma's best efforts, his Genin had yet to make their first kills [ **1** ], their C-Ranks went without incident and he didn't want to risk a B-Rank. Which led the four of them to today.

Today was his team's first mission that would take them out of Hi no Kuni. They were heading for Kaze no Kuni, more specifically they were heading for Sunagakure. Looking over at the departure/ Arrival station, his team was already assembled and awaiting his arrival. Walking up to them he started the pre-mission 'rituals' for lack of a better word.

"Team, you've learnt the details?"  
"Hai, Sensei. We're to ensure an important message from Konoha is safely delivered to Sunagakure. The message is deemed important enough to be sent via Shinobi instead of messenger bird thus an unofficial timescale of four days to arrive applies." Tri stated, with his photographic memory, would know the mission inside out, Objectives, Timescale, Targets etc.

Genma nodded, turning his head to face Itachi, "Route?"  
"Hai, Sensei. Our journey will be taking us to Sunagakure, to do so we need to travel through at least one minor nations. For obvious reasons it won't be Amegakure so we'll be passing through Kawa no Kuni (Land of Rivers). To meet our timescale we'll need to move fast to allow for the bureaucracy of entering and leaving Kawa no Kuni." It was Itachi's job to plan the route to and from their destination.

"Naruto, threats and contingencies?"  
"Hai Sensei. There shouldn't be any troubles getting to the border, there is, however, limited intelligence on potential problems inside Kawa no Kuni, we may have to be wary of bandits. There shouldn't be any issues inside Kaze no Kuni, Sunagakure is meticulous in dealing with bandits. Secondary routes are planned."

Genma nodded approvingly, "Very good team, you are supplied long enough for this mission?"

"Hai Sensei, mission length estimate of 6-9 days, we're supplied for 14," Tri stated.

"Excellent, let's get to it." Genma had the message sealed in a storage seal on his wrist, just one of the things his students had, in fact, taught him.

And with that they departed, dispensing with walking in favour of breaking straight into a run. Before long they were jumping through the trees in a modified diamond formation. Naruto took point and also knew their route. Tri took the left while the first of his two shadow clones took the right. Itachi took the rear-centre to make the best use of his Sharingan, Genma henged to look like Tri was the rear guard behind Itachi. Tri's second shadow clone henged to look like Genma took the centre.

The formation continued westwards for hours before turning south-west. They were to cross at Kawa no Kuni's narrowest point separating Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni. That would mean they'd be crossing relatively close to the Kawa no Kuni's/ Amegakure's joint border. The lands hidden village, Tanigakure (Village hidden in Valleys) was also far to the south, so the chance of encountering bandits or missing-nin increased.

By the time night came they were near the border. All four were able to create shadow clones so two would take half night watches with clones and they'd alternate with the other two the following night. The night was a quiet late spring night. Tri and Itachi had taken the first nights watch, Tri had relieved Itachi hours ago and the sun would soon rise over the horizon.

Tri was sat up a tree some ten feet off the ground, he had ten clones in a 100-foot circle surrounding their camp. Each clone had a piece of fine ninja wire tied around a finger. The wires were all attached to Tri's fingers and thumbs, a pull on any of them would alert him to any problems. With his hands palms down eight fingers from his left pinkie to his right middle finger were assigned compass points, the final two were reserves closer to the camp he could move them between the other eight.

And that's exactly what was happening, the wire on his left ring finger was being lightly pulled.

One short pull followed by one long pull meant six threats from the south-west. Then his left thumb started moving, two short pulls followed by one long pull, seven more threats from the north. He pulled on his two clone reserves, two pulls sent one to the south-west and five sent the second to the north.

While waiting for them to arrive, gather information and then dispel he channelled chakra into a seal array on his left forearm, activating it. The seal was connected to three scrolls, each scroll was located right next to his sleeping teammates. The scrolls emitted a quiet, low pitched buzz that would wake them, the scroll would also display the directions the threat was approaching from.

The wire around his right ring finger went slack, meaning it had been cut, the clone would cut the wire to identify itself and then dispel, which it duly did. Tri was still sat in the tree unmoved as Itachi appeared next to him, as he did Tri's second reserve clone dispelled. "What have you found?"

"Bandits, two groups, six to the south-west, seven to the north, both converging on the camp."

"Ok, Tri, let them pass under you before you set off any traps." The Uzumaki just nodded as Itachi shunshined back to camp. It was the job of the other three to act unaware and draw them in.

Itachi made himself look occupied, Genma was still in his tent while a shadow clone of Naruto was snoozing at the base of a tree, the real Naruto was on the other side of the camp up a tree. With a series of pulls on the wires, Tri recalled four of his clones to a tighter perimeter around the camp, with that he cut all the wires and made ready.

"Boss, we see three of them in their camp, they look like Ninja," Taki whispered, he was a small man with dirty blonde hair. His leader's name was simply Tan, Taki had always wondered why he'd chosen the name Tan, perhaps on account of his bronze skin tone, who knew. "If they are Ninja, then there should be a fourth, they operate in teams of four. We need to move quickly before the fourth one turns up, we've got the jump on the others. Wait for the others to start the attack," Tan replied in a half growl, half whisper.

None of them had noticed that they'd passed right under Tri, who was squatted down on a high branch, the ram seal formed, ready to detonate the explosive and flash bang tags. A few seconds later the group from the north rushed in the clearing, shouting and screaming. They thought they had the element of surprise.

This line of thought continued, right up until one stepped on one of Itachi's explosive tags to the camps north, which immediately detonated launching the poor man into the air minus a leg; He was dead before he hit the floor. The other six were shocked to a standstill and were immediately under attack as three Ninja rushed them.

Tan was angry at his assault being stopped so quickly, "All right boys, let's finish them off. And be quick about it!" the man shouted as his contingent charged out of the undergrowth with him leading the way. Tan only got about six feet before he too stepped on a tag, it didn't immediately explode, however, it did explode when Taki was running past it. The explosion launched him into a tree and Tan to the ground with great force. The first tags explosion triggered the others, enveloping the other four killing them instantly. Tri dropped down out of the tree obscured by the smoke.

They watched in horror as their comrade was launched through the air, his now detached leg going one way while the rest of him went another. There was no scream, but there was a fountain of blood and it seemed to coat everything, they included. They were such a state of shock that two more died before they even came to their senses as a pair of senbon embedded in the neck of one and a tantō impaled the chest of another.

The remaining four managed to pull themselves together and charged Naruto and Genma only for several of Tri's clones to drop down amongst them, one of them driving a kunai deep into a bandit just above the collarbone. The man screamed as he collapsed, the blood squirted out of the wound as the blade struck an artery. The next to fall was killed by Itachi, a flurry of shuriken striking him in the chest.

The two remaining managed to recover and defeat Tri's shadow clones before they reached Naruto, the first with a big overhead swing with his katana, the second coming at the blonde from the right. Naruto blocked the swing with his own tantō but a wild horizontal swing from the second forced him back. Both bandits came forward clumsily, nearly bumping into one another, _'They don't know how to fight together'_ he thought as their blades clashed again. Again he'd blocked an overhead swing, on this occasion, however, he was able to kick his opponent's standing leg at the knee. In a grunt of pain the man fell to one knee before he could look up again Naruto kneed him in the face, he could feel his nose give way as it broke. He didn't have time to process the pain as Naruto ran him through with a tantō.

Not having time to pull his blade out he jumped back and unsheathed his second tantō. The sole survivor in front of him was shaking as he held his longer sword out in front of him. Naruto would never move as his opponent's throat was slashed open by a shuriken.

Tan was face down in the dirt. His ears rang as he slowly managed to raise his head as the last of his northern contingent went down grasping his throat, he could see the spray of red. With difficulty he looked behind him, his group of six were down, no one looked like they were getting up. A kick to the ribs rolled him onto his back. Before he could even try to get up, a knee over his chest held him down.

Looking down at him was a boy, he couldn't have been older than ten. The child's face, framed by red and black was emotionless. "Guess you're the fourth then. They sure start you young, don't they." Tan managed to get out. Tri shrugged, "Comes with the territory," was the calm reply. "Now, are there any more of you, or just the thirteen?"

"What do you care," Tan practically spat back. Tri pondered his retort for a moment, "Hmm, I guess you're right, I don't." Quicker than Tan could comprehend a kunai opened his throat. Tri didn't budge, even as the blood splashed across his face and clothes he continued to watch as the light left Tan's eyes. Only when they closed did he stand again.

Itachi and Genma looked on slightly unnerved as Tri was painted red. Sensing their questions Tri shouted over to them, "I'm desensitising myself to it all, rather now than when my life's on the line," Genma understood his reasoning, _'he didn't have to go overboard though'_. "Itachi, Tri, see if we've any survivors and start piling the bodies."

"Hai, sensei," they both replied.

Genma made his way to Naruto, who still hadn't moved. "You alright? Naruto," Naruto took a moment to register his Sensei's voice. "Uh, y..yeah, I..I'll be fine Sensei." His head turned quickly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, the first is never pleasant," Genma reassured him. "If you need to be sick, then do so, you aren't the first and you won't be the last," he added.

As if he'd been waiting for leave to do so, he shot into the bushes. He left him be and picked up the nearest body. First, however, he had to pull Naruto's tantō out.

It took a few minutes to pile twelve corpses up, "Itachi, we're one short," it was only then that they noticed the form of Taki propped up against a tree, he was missing the lower half of his right leg and a hand. Itachi approached him and squatted down in front of him. "Do you want it to end?" he asked, a weak nod was all he received in reply. "Very well." Itachi, grabbing him by the hair lifted Taki's head up to face him and quickly cut his throat. Within seconds the man stopped breathing.

Waiting until the bleeding stopped he dragged the final body over to the pile. "Ok you two, on three. One, two, three," Genma counted, " **Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu** ," (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique) all three of them said, their collective fireballs igniting the corpses. With Naruto's return, Genma sat them all down.

"So, how do you all feel?" he asked tentatively. Naruto had the look of someone who'd just be sick, Itachi's face had a green tint to it and Tri stared at the ground, no emotion on his face. "Sensei, does it get any easier?"

"No Naruto, it never really gets any easier. But you get used to it." Genma's answer was bluntly but truthfully spoken. "It's why we've taken as many C-Ranks as we have, I wanted to get you used to this. When you are, you're ready for the Chūnin Exams. But tell me, how do you feel?" Itachi went first, "Not great, I want to pity them. But I know pity is one emotion I can't have."  
"Correct Itachi, Pity is an emotion you cannot have, pity will get you killed." His Sensei's blunt reply made Itachi wince slightly. "Sensei, I-I feel sick, I looked one in the eyes after I'd ran him through with my tantō."  
"As I've said before, it's normal to feel as you are right now on your first kills. General advice, however, don't look them in the eyes while they die."

Genma then cast his gaze on Tri, "Which brings us to you Tri, I know you deliberately looked him in the eyes."  
"I-I don't feel anything Sensei. I don't feel pity, remorse, anger, disgust, guilt nor sick. Nothing and that in itself doesn't feel right." Yet again his red and black haired Genin perplexed him, he'd never come across a Genin that experienced no emotion under such circumstances. "Alright, I want you each to know that you did well. Now, get cleaned up and we'll get going, we should reach Kana no Kuni by midday." Genma went to patrol the perimeter just to make sure it was secure. He quickly came across several of Tri's lookout clones still active. _'He was telling the truth, big emotional pulls tend to dispel clones'_.

Back in the camp Itachi and Tri were quickly able to clean and change clothes. Tri even having the presence of mind to use Suiton and Katon to make hot water for them. Naruto, however, had hardly moved, again a hand on his shoulder brought him back to reality. "You understand it was either you or him, yes?" At Naruto's silent nod Tri continued, "Besides, I don't fancy explaining to Kaa-chan how I let you get yourself killed by a bandit," he joked, he succeeded in getting a small smile out of his brother.

It took them nearly half an hour to clean and break camp. The corpses, for the most part, had been reduced to ash, their equipment retrieved and that of their opponents disposed of. "Sensei, perhaps in light of the morning's events, might I suggest a change in formation."  
"Elaborate, Tri."  
"For today at the least, adopt a line formation. I take point, Itachi second, Naruto third and you on rear guard Sensei. I'll line each flank with three shadow clones." Genma considered his proposal a moment before nodding in agreement, _'Naruto and Itachi are still coming to terms, their concentration will likely suffer as a result_. "Ok, for today we'll change to the line formation, but the rear two clones will be mine," Tri nodded, dispelling the rest of his previous clones and creating four new ones. He gave clones just enough chakra to complete their tasks, his lookouts were spent, thus dispelled.

And with that they were off again, jumping through the trees. As Genma had anticipated, they reached the border just before midday as the great forests of Hi no Kuni gave way to the vast valleys and plains of Kana no Kuni. Passport checks were quicker than expected and after a quick lunch they continued, running over the endless grasslands only occasionally broken up by fir and pine trees, the wind unbroken by the forests was stronger too.

The northern regions of Kana no Kuni was relatively devoid of much more than villages and small towns given the proximity to Amegakure, the major cities and the hidden village were much further south. There were only a certain number of border crossings between Kana no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni, thus they were soon turning south south-west to reach the nearest one. And by late afternoon they reached the border town. After again clearing passport control they decided to keep going until nightfall, doing so ensured they'd reach Sunagakure the following afternoon.

"Okay team, we'll be camping here tonight, we're on one of the main roads to Suna, which is patrolled heavily so don't wander off and don't antagonise their patrols should any come by." They camped at the base of an outcrop of rock to better shelter them from the wind. And as planned Genma and Naruto took their turns on watch, not that the blonde could sleep much anyway.

They were in the desert proper now and as the sun rose the following day, so did the temperature. "Gah, this heat is unbearable," a weary Naruto griped as they set off once more. The night and thankfully the morning had passed without incident. "Don't worry Naruto, it's still only morning, it'll keep getting worse until midday," Tri deadpanned. Genma got a laugh as Naruto's face dropped at his brother's words.

And just as Tri had said, the heat got worse and worse. By the time they stopped just past midday to rest and cool down the sweat was pouring off all four of them. And throughout the whole ordeal, Naruto had complained constantly, so much so that Tri decided to do something about it.

Bringing a finger to his lips, signalling Itachi and Genma to keep quiet he channelled chakra to his feet to silence his footsteps. He slowly crept up behind Naruto who was stabbing a kunai in the sand and was still complaining. Now in place, Tri formed the Dog seal, his chest expanded and soon the silence of the desert was shattered by a startled scream as Tri unleashed a torrent of water right on top of Naruto. The blonde spluttered and thrashed around as his brain processed what had just happened

Itachi had a wide smile, Genma laughed while Naruto scowled at his brother. "Tri, what the hell?" he shouted. "Baka, because I tired of hearing your whining and moaning about being thirsty again or how it's too hot. You can mould Suiton chakra, you could have easily solved both just by creating water in your stomach with your chakra." Tri shot back.

Naruto had least had the dignity to look slightly embarrassed as he had the answer to his problems literally dumped on top of him. "Kami and they made you a Genin," Tri joked at his brother's expense, immediately the blondes scowl returned.

"All right you two, get ready. I want to reach Sunagakure sometime today and we won't if you two start trying to turn the desert into an oasis." Within minutes they were off again, it didn't take for the sun to dry Naruto out.

Another hour or two later Genma slowed them to a regular walk. "Ok, we walk from here. We don't want to spook the sentries by running at them full speed. And we definitely don't want to cause an international incident involving two children of the Hokage. So all of you better behave. Now it's your first time in another hidden village, you're going to stick out as Konoha Shinobi so the civilians are going to stare. And the Shinobi will be watching you constantly."

"Will any try to antagonise us Sensei?" Itachi asked. "Some might, they'll likely be younger though, Genin like you. The older Chūnin and Jōnin might recognise the resemblance between Naruto and Hokage-sama and think better of it, that and they're supposed to be adults," their Sensei answered. "Oh, and we'll likely be staying overnight and departing in the morning," he quickly added.

Without another word, they continued towards the main entrance to Sunagakure. The village was surrounded by a massive circular wall of rock that shielded the village from most of the sandstorms. It also meant that there was one way in and one way out thanks to a single cleft in the cliffs of stone.

It took another ten minutes or so before they reached the entrance, the cliffs towered over them. Before they could go any further a Suna Shinobi stepped forward. "Konoha Shinobi, present your passports and state your business in Sunagakure."

Genma handed over his and his teams passports. "Your names?"  
"Shiranui Genma."  
"Uzumaki Tri."  
"Uchiha Itachi."  
"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto." The final name caught the Suna off-guard. It wasn't every day the son of the Yondaime Hokage showed up outside another hidden village. "Are you really," another Suna-nin said rhetorically. "Certainly has the same hair, now your purpose in Sunagakure?" the first, a Chūnin replied.

"We were tasked to deliver a message from the Hokage to the Kazekage," Genma stated, not really wanting to waste time chit-chatting. "You," the first said to another nin, "Go check whether the Kazekage is waiting on a delivered message from Konoha."

"Hai," the nin replied as she immediately ran through the cleft towards the Kazekage's tower. Genma internally groaned while Tri who figuring it would take a while simply sat down on a small mound of sand. Channelling chakra into a storage seal made two books appear in his hand, he quickly formed the clone seal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"** and next to him appeared a clone that he handed a book to, both began reading to the bewilderment of the gathered Suna shinobi.

"Shadow Clones eh, not bad for a Gaki," a Suna-nin commented. Tri's little display had even drawn the attention of a Suna Jōnin. "Even figured out the memory retention when they dispel to speed up learning."  
"So where'd you learn that then, eh Gaki. Your Sensei teach ya?"  
"No, I taught myself, it's a remarkably easy technique to learn, you just need the chakra for it," Tri replied, not even looking up from his book, off in the distance they could hear a couple of voices that were slowly getting louder.

"You know, it's rude to not look at someone when they're talking to you," the Jōnin verbally jabbed. She was trying to get a reaction out of him, Genma knew it, Itachi knew it, Naruto, all the other Suna-nin but most importantly so did Tri. With a little sigh, he created another shadow clone, this time without hand seals and handed his book to it. He looked up at the Jōnin, "Yes, Suna-san?" he said in a totally calm voice.

She narrowed her eyes at him, she hadn't expected the reaction he gave her. "Calm one aren't you Gaki."  
"I suppose I am, Suna-san. But tell me, is it not rude to not use someone's name when talking to them," again his voice was calm. "I suppose that is true Tri-san, but I don't really feel like telling you my name. A slight smile slowly appeared on his face. "That's quite alright, I don't need to ask Pakura-san."

The woman was taken aback, the surprise evident on her face. A face of fair skin with pupiless brown eyes, her hair was tied in a bun and was completely green but for an orange bang either side of her face. Her attire consisted of a sleeveless, backless top and short tight pants with an obi around her waist and purple arm warmers that reached the shoulders. Her outfit was completed with bandages around her tights and ankles.

"Right now I imagine you're wondering how I know your name." Tri created another shadow clone which immediately henged into a book. He tossed the book towards Pakura which she effortlessly caught. "Page 76," Tri instructed her, she opened the book to the page and read. "It's Konoha's Bingo book Pakura-san, I know every entry in it."

"Why did you make a clone into the Bingo book?" Itachi asked. Tri briefly laughed, "Incase she didn't feel like returning it, we technically aren't allowed to hand Konoha's Bingo book to shinobi of other villages." To make his point he clicked his fingers and the book in Pakura's hands disappeared in a puff of smoke as did one of his two reading clones, Tri retrieved the dropped book and began reading once more.

The voices that they could hear off in the distance had drawn closer, they could now be identified as a Suna Genin team returning from a mission. The Chūnin who'd stopped them let out an exacerbated groan. "Konoha-nin, I ask you to be patient with these three, they entirely too fond of running their mouths," he warned them.

As they came closer they could pick up some of their comments, the same full of bluster and bravado comments that nearly all Genin seemed to make. "That mission was too easy for me!"  
"I can take on missing ninja, no problem!"  
"I'm ready for the Chūnin Exams!"  
"I could beat Sasori himself!" Many of the assembled nin, Konoha included cringed at the last comment, Sasori was an S-Rank missing-nin. He was regarded as the best puppeteer in the world was certainly not going to be bested by a Genin that talked too much.

The border guard stepped forward, "Identify yourselves," he ordered.

"Souta Noburu, Jōnin Sensei, team 13, returning from completed assignment." The guard opened a large book and began searching for the team. It was going so well, then one of the Genin noticed the Konoha Hitai-ate's and attires. "You need a hand keeping out the riff-raff, eh guard-san? One of them sneered while his teammates snickered. The assembled Suna-nin, Pakura included internally groaned. A confrontation was now seemingly inevitable.

But none of them replied. Tri read his book, Itachi span a kunai around a finger while looking off into the distance while Naruto stood stock still, arms folded and eyes closed. Seeing he wasn't going to get a reply, the Genin decided to keep talking. "Huh, seems you know to keep quiet amongst your superiors," the disdain evident in his voice. "Not really, we just don't feel like talking to you. You're rather rude," Naruto replied in a calm voice that made Genma smirk.

The blonde gave him nothing to come back on, nothing to insult, so he searched for an easier target, skipping their Jōnin he turned to Itachi. Before he could say a word he found a pair of three tomoe Sharingan staring back at him, he immediately thought better of insulting an Uchiha. Which left him one other option, a black and red haired boy sat on a sand dune alongside a replica both reading a book.

He walked up to Tri, "What's your deal, you so dumb you need to read the same book twice?" he loudly proclaimed snatching the book from Tri's hand. Tri smiled slightly which made Naruto laugh. He quickly looked at Naruto before sneering again. "See, even you teammate agrees," he mocked turning back to face Tri. When he did, however, he found that the book was gone and Tri was reading it again which only made Naruto laugh harder.

"What's so funny blondie?" a second Genin asked with her nasally voice. After taking a few second to calm himself down he replied, "Oh, it's nothing really, it's just that my brother doesn't like people messing with his Fūinjutsu books." She looked at Naruto, then at Tri before snorting. "You both have the same two parents?"

"Yes," Naruto replied narrowing his eyes, his voice carrying an edge to it. "You don't look anything alike you know, perhaps you should ask your mom again."

The silence that followed was deafening, Itachi's kunai stopped spinning, faces on the Suna-nin paled at her insinuation yet the two brothers looked totally calm. The shit-eating grin on her face slowly faded as she took in the reactions of everyone else. Tri snapped his book shut, took the second book back, dispelled the clone and sealed them away before standing. Despite how angry Tri could get at Kushina for ignoring Naruto and himself he utterly adored his Kaa-chan. It was her words that gave him the life he now had. And right now Tri was angry.

Naruto had been leaking killing intent ever since the comment was made but that was utterly swamped as it rolled off of Tri in waves. The Suna trio were terrified, some of the older nin found themselves taking a step back. Genma was concerned that a fight was about to break out, _oh, thank Kami'_ he thought as he spotted the returning runner dispatched to validify their presence.

Coming to a stop next to the Chūnin guard, "Yep, the Kazekage is waiting on a message from Konoha."

"Excellent," Genma said loudly clapping his hands. "Then we'll take our leave, Tri, Naruto, Itachi, let's go," he quickly added, absolute authority in his voice, wanting to get his Genin away before they put someone in the hospital. " In an instant the killing intent ceased. "Hai, Sensei," the three uttered. The Chūnin guard only nodded as the four Konoha-nin walked past him.

After they'd left, the Suna Jōnin Sensei came up to him, he'd seen the looks on his comrades face, "Who were they?" he asked. "The two your Genin just insulted are sons of the Yondaime Hokage," the Jōnin suddenly felt sick as he pieced together just who the woman his Genin had slandered was. Pakura also took the opportunity to slip away as the Jōnin was left with three Genin shaking like leaves in the wind.

* * *

- **Kazekage's Office** -

"I thank you and your team for getting this here as quickly as you have. I wasn't expecting you here until tomorrow," Rasa, the Yondaime Kazekage thanked the four Konoha shinobi stood in front of him. "Thank you Kazekage-Dono," thanked Genma, bowing slightly. Rasa had finished writing his reply and was placing it inside an envelope.

"If you see my assistant outside, she'll see to your accommodation for the evening," he said handing the sealed envelope to Genma. "Thank you, Kazekage-Dono," Genma repeated, he and his team bowing before seeing themselves out.

Rasa leaned his chin on his hands as he watched them leave. _'So those two are yours, eh Minato. Interesting'_.

Having shut the door Genma turned to find the assistant right in front of him. She held out an unsealed envelope and gave him a smile. "Your accommodation is in the envelope, the rooms are under your name Shiranui-san."

"Uh, thank you," he sheepishly replied.

* * *

It had been a few hours since they'd left the Kazekage's office. They had checked into their hotel and had gone out for something to eat, now they were on their way back to their rooms. Tri himself was passing his gaze over the rooftops of the many buildings around them until he spotted what he was looking for. "Genma-Sensei," he said getting the Jōnin's attention. "Hmm, yes Tri?"

"Might I be excused, there's something I'd like to do before turning in." Genma surveyed his Genin for a moment, rolling the senbon in his mouth before nodding. "Alright, but don't be long." He got a nod in return before Tri walked off in another direction.

As soon as Tri was out of sight he shunshined on top of a nearby building. "Thank you for taking the time to meet me, there's a matter I'd like your advice on," he asked as a figure walked out of the shadows.

* * *

End Chapter

[ **1** ] - I never really understood why so little seems to be done to desensitise Konoha Genin before they're thrown into the Chūnin Exams, how can Genin teams be realistically expected to compete in Chūnin Exams, how do they adequately compete in an exam they can be killed in when they themselves have no experience in killing.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Realisations and Applications

* * *

Genma was finishing off his latest mission report, _'Kami, I hate these things'_ , he thought giving it a quick once-over before handing it in getting a brief thank you from the Chūnin on duty in the mission hall and received four small sealed packages in return. He and his team had completed another C-Rank, bringing team 12's total to 17, alongside the 53 D-Ranks it had been a good year.

Their latest mission had seen them escort a merchant from Konoha to the Kaminari no Kuni (Land of Lightning) border. The mission had taken them through two minor nations and had taken several weeks. And Genma was of the opinion that it would be the final mission he led them on, well as their Sensei at least anyway. It had been pretty much a year since he'd taken command of team 12.

The Chūnin exams were right around the corner, in fact, team 12 were departing in three days for Kumogakure. While they weren't the only team going representing Konoha, they were the most highly regarded. "All right you three, your pay," he handed them each one of the packages. "Now I want you to take it easy for the next few days before we leave for Kumo, nothing above light training, no need to risk injuring yourself."

"Hai, Sensei," was the collective response. "I'll see you at the main gate, three days, 9:00 am. Bring everything you'll need. Now hurry up or you'll be late." And with that all three were gone in an instant, their destination was the Academy. Today was the day their former classmates graduated. All nine of them were to receive their Hitai-ate's. They'd double-timed it back to Konoha after seeing their charge over the Kumo border just to make it back in time and even then they had cut it fine.

They raced across the rooftops and flew down streets leaving baffled civilians in their wake. Sure they were used to Shinobi rushing around, but not at full pelt. Their path took them down a narrow street, the street was currently blocked by cart with a broken wheel spoke. They bore down on the cart, a cloud of dust behind them. Naruto leapt clean over, Itachi shunshined past it while Tri wall ran over it. He had seen the cart owner struggling to repair the wheel, however, **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,"** While they continued four clones appeared next to the cart owner. "Need a hand?" they all said.

Tri found himself in third place after his creating clones. Ahead of him, Naruto looked back, he had a big grin on his face. Tri didn't like that grin, _'If Naruto beats me to the Academy, I'll never hear the end of it'_. With that Tri decided to drop his weight seals, but to do that he had to stand still. He skid to a halt and brought his arms together, his hands on the opposite arm just below the elbow. The pose wiped the grin off of Naruto's face.

Tri was stationary for perhaps a second before he simply vanished. Naruto felt nothing, no chakra signature, no movement in the air as Tri cut through it. Naruto and Itachi arrived at the Academy a few minutes later and of course, lent up against a wall waiting for them was Tri. "You're too fast for your own good Tri," Itachi chuckled, the cloak clad boy only shrugged as they entered the Academy grounds.

"Looks like we just got here in time," Naruto said making his way through the crowd, his teammates following the path he forged. They emerged at the front just in time as Sora shouted, "The graduates of class 14. Step forward Akimichi Maruten, Uchiha Izumi, Inuzuka Hana, Yamanaka Keiko, Kamano Saisu, Kenta Rokurou, Moe Mei, Yuuki Kazue and Yua Saki." The nine stepped forward, all had their attention drawn a loudly cheering Naruto. There were smiles of delight all round on seeing they'd made it, they'd known there was a distinct possibility they wouldn't make it back from their mission in time.

Daikoku stepped in front of his nine latest graduates. "Just like I said to your former classmates last year, it has been a pleasure to teach each of you. Despite the disappointment of having to remain a second year despite all the progress you'd each made. You didn't let it get to you, you used it to reaffirm your dedication and used it as a catalyst to ensure you would graduate this year. And it has paid off. I'm proud to have been your Sensei and I wish you well in your future endeavours."

"Akimichi Maruten, step forward," Sora shouted out as the first of the nine received their Hitai-ate.

The ceremony had come to an end. Class 14 weren't the last class to be called forward this year, so they'd had to wait for everyone else before dispersing. The 'Prodigal Three' stood to the side as their friends were congratulated by their families, it wasn't the best of experiences for Tri and Naruto as it brought back memories of their own graduation the previous year.

That was soon forgotten as their friends made their way over one by one. Tri had just finished giving Mei a congratulatory hug, the only warning he got was "Tri-kun!" before he was practically tackled to the ground by a brown-haired Inuzuka. "Congratulations Hana-chan," he replied, returning her hug. Besides Naruto, Itachi and maybe Shisui, Hana was his closest friend, definitely his closest female friend.

Hana who had almost tackled him to the floor was soon bested. The moment he let go of Hana, he did end up on the floor as he was mobbed by the Haimaru brothers. They still hadn't fully grown but they certainly weren't puppies anymore. "Yes. Hello, you three. Yes, I missed you too," was all he managed to get out while Hana and the others looked on. They tried not to laugh, they really did. But they all failed miserably as Tri's face was covered in slobber. Hana eventually had to call them to heel so Tri could actually get up. "One several week C-Rank mission, that's fine. But one Inuzuka and her Ninken and you've had it," Itachi said poking fun at him, earning him a glare.

Tri used his cloak to wipe his face while Mei spoke, "How long have you been back?"

"About half an hour," Naruto replied. "What did you saunter back or something?" Saki jokingly accused. Naruto shook his head, "No, we double-timed it back. We ran into some miserable weather in Shimo no Kuni (Land of Frost) on the way there that delayed us by a day or two."

"So how are we celebrating?" Keiko asked joining the group. "Food?" Maruten hopefully asked. "Fine with me," Mei mused, the Akimichi's suggestion going down well as more of them agreed. "It'll be the evening," Itachi warned. "You'll likely be exhausted as well," chucked Naruto. The three of them had already been warned about revealing the Genin Exam their friends would be subjected to tomorrow. "That's alright Naruto, they'll have worked up an appetite," Tri chimed in, Hana noticed the evil little grin he had on his face but ignored it.

"Ok, so what time and where?" the Inuzuka asked. Maruten assumed a thinking pose, stroking his chin. The rest looked on as Maruten went through all the possibilities in his head, a quick shake of his head telling them he'd dismissed an option. This continued for almost a minute before Maruten clapped his hands together. "So where'd you decide on Maruten-kun?" Saki asked. They'd all unconsciously decided long ago that whenever it came to deciding on a place to eat, they'd just let Maruten decide.

"This time, it shall be Yakiniku Q! And it shall be at 7:00 pm!" he declared. "Well then, it settled," Saisu said clapping a hand on Maruten's shoulder. "As for now, however, I'm going home before I fall asleep standing up," Naruto followed up. The group all bid their farewells until tomorrow before going their own separate ways.

The two brothers reached home. "Nii-chan!" rang down the hall as they were greeted by a five-year-old Rezano. After hugging Naruto he got a boop on the nose from Tri before being picked him up into his arms. Kushina joined them in the hall, a two-year-old Minusha in her arms. "Welcome back Tri-chan, Naruto-chan," she welcomed them as Minusha let out a joyful giggle. "Hi Kaa-chan," was their collective reply. "Everything go ok on your mission?" she asked, leading them into the dining room.

Tri pulled a chair out, sat in it and pulled Rezano onto his lap while Naruto theatrically fell into another chair. "Tri answered his question, "Yeah, no problems. A brief blizzard in Shima no Kuni delayed us a day or two, but other than that, nothing."  
"Yeah, still got back in time to see our friends graduate," Naruto added, lying cheek first on the table. "How long have you been back?"  
"About an hour Kaa-chan."  
"So you barely made it," Kushina smirked. "Yeah, minutes in it."  
"Aren't you doing anything to celebrate?"  
"Yeah, tomorrow night. Everyone's celebrating with their families tonight and we're exhausted. So we won't be here for dinner tomorrow," Tri said, the tiredness coming through in his voice. Kushina internally winced at his comment.

She was saved from the awkward silence that would have followed by Rezano. "Nii-chan! I've gotten a lot better with my shuriken," the boy declared. "Is that right," Tri replied, tightening his arms around Rezano's belly, "Well you'll have to show me tomorrow."  
"Are you not on any missions tomorrow then?" Tri shook his head, "No Kaa-chan, we're off-duty until we leave for Kumogakure."

Kushina didn't want her children competing in a Chūnin Exams held by Kumo. She bore a great deal of animosity towards the Village hidden in the Clouds, and for good reason. They'd tried to kidnap her when she was a child and then there was the Hyūga incident three years ago when a Kumo nin had tried to kidnap the Hyūga Clan heir Hinata for her Byakugan.

But she had no say in whether they competed or not, only Genma could decide whether they did or not. And he had forwarded their names as soon as Minato started taking applications for the Chūnin Exams. Of course, she'd immediately tried to argue with Genma over the matter. She questioned whether they were truly ready to enter an Exam they could die in, whether they were strong enough, developed enough both physically and mentally. Genma had shut her down in short order.

* * *

* **Flashback** *

"What can I do for you, Genma?"  
"Hokage-sama, I'll be entering team 12 into the Chūnin Exams." Minato and Kushina were both caught off guard by the Jōnin's declaration. "What? They've only been Genin for a year. How can they be ready for the Chūnin Exams?" the Uzumaki matriarch asked. "It doesn't matter how long they've been Genin Kushina-sama. I am absolutely confident they are ready"

"How can you be sure, how do you know how they'll react when it's kill or be killed?" she continued, her question confused Genma. "Did you not know?" was his bewildered question. "Know what.. You mean they're blooded?" [ **1** ] she asked, her emotions starting to get the better of her. Deciding to be blunt, Genma replied, "Hai, they were all blooded just more than eight months ago, since then they been in combat several times against both regular bandits and missing-nin. This was all mentioned in my mission reports."

' _How did I not know this? Who helped them come to terms with their first kills?'_ the thoughts raced through Kushina's head, did they hide it from her, or did she simply not notice, _'I wouldn't have missed it, surely?'_.

"How many kills are we talking here?" Minato queried. Genma thought for a few moments, "Each of them is past a dozen, they're desensitised to it and don't allow emotion to cloud their judgement." Kushina was now desperately looking for excuses, reasons for them not to compete. "How can you be sure they are good enough for the Chūnin Exams?"

"Kushina-sama. How do you know they aren't. Because trust me, they are," Genma said frankly.

"I..I." Kushina tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come. His response stuck in her mind, How did she know if they were good enough or not. The more she thought about it, the less she realised she knew. Their strengths, their weaknesses, their fighting styles, their attitudes, their training regime. She didn't know any of it. _'Why don't I know any of this? Why didn't they ask for help? Did they ask? Did I ignore them? When was the last time I helped either of them? When was the last time they asked?'_

Minato reached into one of the drawers on his desk. "If you think they're ready Genma," he said handing him three sheets, "Have them fill these in."  
"Hai, Hokage-sama."

* **End Flashback** *

* * *

"So how are you spending the next couple days?" she tentatively asked. "I'll probably be training Kaa-chan," Naruto replied. Tri had noticed the lack of surety in her voice, "Except for tomorrow night and some light training in the early mornings, I'll be here. I haven't seen any of you for ages and I'll soon be gone for several weeks more," he said giving Kushina a warm smile. He noticed a nervousness in his mother in recent weeks and it seemed to have made her more mindful of how she interacted with him and Naruto.

He thought he saw a brief flicker of relief in her eyes. "Anyway, I think I'll go take a nap before I fall asleep on the table," Naruto stated, dragging himself to his feet before shuffling out of the room. "Ok, Naruto-chan, I'll wake you when dinners ready."  
"Thanks, Kaa-chan," he replied from the hall.

Tri's extreme stamina training meant that even after a three-day charge across several hundred miles he was good until evening rolled around. Instead, he pulled a pair of Fūinjutsu books out of a storage seal, one was a level 7 book, the other was his personal notepad, well one of them. He had numerous notebooks filled to the brim by now. And with Rezano snuggled into his shoulder, on the edge of dozing off himself, he picked up where he'd last left off.

Her interest piqued, she sat down in the chair next to Tri. "What cha' working on?"  
"My Fūinjutsu, Kaa-chan," he said still scribbling away with a pencil. "You persevered with it, fantastic," she happily said. "Where are you up to?" she was expecting high level 2, low level 3. "I recently started level 7, Kaa-chan,"  
"Level.. Sev… Seven?" Her voice was despairingly quiet as her eyes widened in shock. "How?" Tri looked up to find a sad look on her face and deciding now was the time to begin to confront the issues of the past four and a half years. "I have a photographic memory, Kaa-chan. I read something, I remember it. And combined with a load of Kage Bunshin's means it's massively sped up my Fūinjutsu learning," The sad look on her face only seemed to worsen, _'I didn't know something as simple as this?'_ her mind screamed.

Tri gently carried Rezano into the living room and placed him down on a sofa, re-entering the dining room he pushed his chair closer to Kushina's. "How much have I missed?" Tri sighed, he would have to be blunt, "A lot, Kaa-chan, a lot. But we need to have this conversation with Naruto and Tou-san present too." Her head was bowed, she couldn't bring herself to look at her 10-year-old son. Right now it felt like their roles were reversed, that she was the child and he the adult.

Tri sighed again as he stood, wrapping his arms around Kushina's shoulders he pulled her into a hug.

* * *

- **The following day** -

"Aww, why are you so much faster than me Nii-chan?" a glum Rezano asked. Tri placed a hand on his otouto's head, "Because I've been doing this for years, you dummy. You've only just started." Just as he said he would, Tri was watching Rezano throw shuriken. There back garden was a large open space so they'd turned a chunk of it into a training field. A pair of wooden sparing posts at one end, shuriken and kunai targets at the other.

Right now some of the targets were riddled with wooden shuriken, the ground around the targets bore just as many. "You're focusing too much on speed, speed comes in time. Work on your accuracy first then you can start learning to throw them accurately and quickly." To make his point, he threw six metal shuriken downrange, in an instant all six struck the bullseye. "See, Rezano-chan."

His blonde haired younger brother glumly nodded. "Practise with your wooden shuriken and when you can hit the bullseye every time, we'll talk to Tou-san and Kaa-chan about getting you a blunt metal set, Okay?" His enthusiasm suddenly returned as he rushed to retrieve his shuriken, "Don't touch my shuriken Rezano-kun, I don't want you cutting yourself on them," he shouted after him.

Rezano soon returned to his side, shuriken in hand. "Nii-chan? I know we all learn to throw shuriken and kunai, but do you even use them still?" Tri was slightly surprised by his brother's perceptive foresight. "We do on occasion Rezano-kun, they are most useful for distractions and for exploiting openings. They become very dangerous if your enemy isn't paying attention. Plus when you're really good with them you can bend them around objects," he explained.

He watched him practise for another fifteen minutes before he spoke again. "Unfortunately, I need to get going Rezano-kun. I've got plans this evening."

"Ok, thank you Nii-chan," he shouted back as Tri made his way back into the house.

* * *

 **-Later that evening at Yakiniku Q-** [ **1** ]

"To the graduates of class 14!" Naruto cheered raising his glass. "Cheers!" the rest responded. They'd been gorging themselves on food enough to feed a small army and some of them were likely going to regret it tomorrow.

"To Genin teams 3, 5, and 6!" Tri cheered, another round of cheers went around the table. Earlier that day all nine had successfully passed the Genin Exams and would tomorrow start their lives as Genin proper. Some of them looked worse for wear, tired, haggard looks on their faces accompanied by scuffs, cuts and bruises.

"When do you three leave for Kumo?" Keiko asked after everyone had settled down. "Day after tomorrow," Itachi was forced to reply since Naruto was stuffing his face while Tri looked on in disgusted bewilderment. _'That much food should not be able to fit into such a small space'_. "Are you nervous?" Izumi asked. The young Uchiha's self-confidence had come on leaps and bounds these last two years. "Not really, I'm confident in my abilities and the abilities of my teammates." Naruto gave him a thumbs up and a big smile, food nearly falling out of his mouth.

"Don't worry about them Izumi-chan," Saisu reassured her, "They are the 'Prodigal Three' after all," he boasted. "Do you know much about what the Exam entails?" Saki asked and this time Tri responded. "The Exam consists of three phases and to reach the next phase, you must pass the previous test. The first test is usually in the form of a written exam. The second is multi-day survival simulation, this is the most dangerous part of the exam. The third test is held a month later and comprises a public tournament, the tournament is usually attended by multiple Daimyos and Kage. Only the best will make it to the final test. The previous two tests are designed solely to weed out those who can't cut it," Tri finished.

Everyone was silent for a short while as they digested Tri's explanation. Naruto, after finally emptying his mouth decided to break the silence. "Don't worry you guys, They televise the matches back to Konoha. So you'll be watching us kick some serious ass in the tournament!" His loud boasts making Tri and Itachi feel a little awkward, neither thought much of boasting, preferring instead to let their actions do the talking for them.

* * *

 **-The following day – Uchiha Compound** -

Itachi watched on as his Kaa-chan, Mikoto Uchiha sparred with his younger brother Sasuke. His brother had recently turned five, thus his training had begun. Taijutsu, Shurikenjutsu and chakra control; His Kaa-chan had begun to teach Sasuke all of them and that confused Itachi. When he was five, both his mother and father had trained him. But while Mikoto trained Sasuke, Fugaku did not and he didn't understand why.

He'd asked Kaa-chan, but she'd dodged his question and left him without an answer. There was no point asking his Tou-san, he was never around, always working at the Uchiha police station. In recent months his Tou-san had become distant, cold, even by his standards. He rarely interacted with him anymore and as for Sasuke, well.

But it went further than that, he could think of several clan members who'd been acting strangely. He'd discussed the matter with Shisui and he'd agreed with his assessments. The major figures of the Uchiha clan were up to something but he couldn't fathom what.

A voice pulled him out of musing. "Nii-chan! Can you help me with my Shurikenjutsu?" Standing right in front of him was Sasuke. He gave his younger sibling a slight smile, "Sorry Sasuke-kun, I need to do one last bit of training before I leave tomorrow. Maybe another time," he replied. Tapping his brother on the forehead with his index and middle fingers after which he shunshined away leaving Sasuke with a pout on his face.

* * *

 **-The following morning-**

"Remember to be careful, since you're my sons I'm afraid the Iwa and Kumo teams are going to after you."  
"Don't worry Tou-san, it's not your fault you're a better Shinobi than them," Naruto said dismissing his father's warning. On the outside he was anyway, inside he knew that his father's words were true. Especially from any teams from Iwagakure, they hated Minato after he single-handedly humiliated them during the third world war.

The yellow Flash had taken on a vast force of Iwa-nin and won, thus he became the nightmare Iwa-nin told their children, to fear his name and his greatest Jutsu, the Hiraishin.

"Don't worry Tou-san, I'll make sure he doesn't get too hurt," Tri's words putting a wide grin on Naruto's face but then instantly wiped it away. "And if he does get hurt, I'll make sure to keep him alive long enough for you to shout at him."

"Alright you three, we need to get going, the weather in the north-east of the world is rather temperamental this time of year, we don't want another blizzard," Genma shouted to them. Kushina quickly pulled her two eldest into a hug, "Good luck both of you, we'll see you in a few weeks, ok." Both brothers took turns giving Rezano a hug and bid farewell to Minusha and their Tou-san. Similarly, Itachi was saying goodbye to his family, his father even managing to turn up.

And with that, they joined the convoy that would be travelling with them and the other Genin teams and they departed. Their destination, Kumogakure and the Chūnin Exams.

* * *

End Chapter

[ **1** ] - Yakiniku Q is the name of the Korean barbecue restaurant that Choji loves so dearly.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

 **Well here we are, one week in. 1800+ views, 8 Reviews, 22 Favourites and 24 Follows, Thank you all.**

 **As a heads up, I've pre-written up to chapter twelve, I'll release another chapter every two days, by my math thats chapters until this coming Thursday, hopefully Ch.13 will be done for the Saturday. After that I'll try to get a new chapter up every week or so but no promises.**

 **Average Joh: Yeah, I agree with you, the learning curve is slightly steeper than I'd like but it should plateau, I hope. I'll likely go back and streamline the earlier chapters at a later date.**

 **BalthazarTheAngel: It will happen but several years later than it does in canon. Also, it will be more of a purge than a massacre.**

* * *

The Chūnin Exams Begin

* * *

They'd been travelling almost ten days, but they were nearly there. Ahead of them was the mountain spires sheathed in cloud that comprised Kumogakure. It was the morning the exams were set to begin, as expected some dreadful weather in Shima no Kuni held up their convoy thus delaying their arrival. The convoy itself was about thirty minutes behind them, the Genin teams had had to go on ahead to arrive in time.

The entrance to the village was similar to Konoha's. Comprising a large gate opening out into a stone courtyard. The gate had half a dozen guards Genma guessed to be Chūnin just as one of them stepped forward. "Your passports and reason for entering Kumogakure," he shouted. Genma pulled their four passports out of his pack and presented them, "Shiranui Genma and my Genin team, we're here for the Chūnin exams."

"Cutting it a little fine aren't you? They start in half an hour," the guard replied looking over their passports. Internally the guard was grinning from ear to ear, _'Son of the Hokage huh'_. "The weather in Shima no Kuni this time of year is foul." The guard handed back their passports while a second handed each of them a small package. "The package has your accommodation and a basic map around the village," they explained.

With the explanation provided, the guards stepped aside allowing them entry to the village. When they were out of earshot, the second guard spoke to the first, "What's got you so chipper all of a sudden?"  
"That blonde kid, he's the Yondaime Hokage's brat."  
"Is he really. You know it would be a real shame if all the Kumo and Iwa teams were to find that out." The first let out a menacing chuckle, "Yes, a real shame."

Genma quickly looked at the map, "Okay, hand me your packs. I'll check in and you get going to the Kumo Academy." They handed over their packs although Tri didn't have one thanks to the storage seals on the inside of his full-length cloak. "All that's left to say is good luck, I'm confident that you can rise to the challenge individually and as a team."  
"Hai Sensei," they all replied.

Finding the Academy hadn't proved much a challenge, the structure was enormous, several times the size of Konoha's. They'd followed the signs at the entrance telling them to report to classroom 18, there was only one open entrance into the Academy so they followed it. They found themselves in a rather bare twisting corridor with closed doors leading into what they assumed were classrooms. Each door had a number above it. The continued down the corridor, rounding corners until they saw the number 18 above a door, ahead of them another Genin team had just stepped through the door under the number 18.

Naruto made to follow them but Tri and Itachi kept walking. "Uh, guys. This is classroom 18," he called after them. "No it isn't Naruto," Itachi replied, "Each corridor section has four classrooms, you only need to count them, you're about to step into classroom 16." Rounding the next corner brought them to another group of four doors and sure enough the number 18 was above one of the doors. Somewhat embarrassed Naruto hurried to catch up as Itachi opened the door.

As they stepped through they found all eyes were fixed on them. Iwa, Suna, Kumo, Taki, Ame, Kusa, Yuga; They were all present, only Kirigakure went unrepresented. All the other teams were giving them glares, a quick spin of the three tomoe in Itachi's eyes seemed to persuade some in looking elsewhere. He'd long since reached the point where he could have his Sharingan on all the time without it being too much of a drain on his chakra.

The assembled teams seemed to have coalesced into larger groups of their fellow village nin. "Nice to see Konoha has finally decided to grace us with their presence!" one shouted from the Iwa corner, getting the odd snicker across the room.

Tri wanted to get in on the barbs and fired a retort straight back. "Nice to see Iwagakure showed up at all," he said with a sincere smile on his face. His retort got a few snickers and some outright laughter from some of the Suna Genin. Despite being allies at the moment, Suna and Konoha's relations remained amicable at best but they both shared a mutual enmity with Iwagakure.

He decided to really throw the Iwa Genin for a loop as he spotted an Iwa Kunoichi decked out in regular red Iwa attire with black hair and distinctive pink eyes. "I suggest you look elsewhere Konoha!" another growled, a threat which Tri duly ignored. "Kurotsuchi-san," he greeted, inclining his head respectfully. With that, he turned away and leaned against the wall next to his teammates.

The Iwa nin were stunned into silence, that a Konoha nin had recognised the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage was one thing, but to have respectfully greeted her. Kurotsuchi herself didn't quite know what to make of it.

"How do you know the Iwa Genin? and why do things like this still surprise me," Naruto asked his brother who shrugged. "Genma-Sensei gave me a list of descriptions and pictures of people to keep an eye on. Kurotsuchi was on that list, the pink eyes are a dead giveaway. She's the granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage." Naruto wouldn't dare admit it but he found her pink eyes mesmerising.

"Anyone else on that list you recognise? Tri," Itachi asked. Tri scanned the room, "There are only two others I recognise. The first is the blonde Iwa nin next to Kurotsuchi-san, his names Deidara. The other is the Taki girl with green hair and orange eyes in the far corner." Itachi followed his teammate's eyes and soon landed on the girl he'd described. There was something different about this one, _'It feels like her chakra reserves surpass Tri's. There's something different about her chakra too'_. "Her name is Fū."

He was pulled out of his thoughts when a Kumo Genin shouted across the room, "Hey, blondie!"  
"Is he talking to me," Naruto asked his teammates. "Yes. Naruto, he is," Tri answered. "Yes?" he shouted back. "What's your name?"  
"Now Naruto, don't use Uzumaki, they'll start confusing the two of us otherwise," Tri said in a voice just loud enough to be heard by the Kumo group across the room. By now another few Konoha teams had found their way into the room and had positioned themselves next to team 12 after Tri had waved them over.

"As my brother has just pointed out, I am an Uzumaki, but my main name is Namikaze." It was immediate, the looks they received from both the Kumo and Iwa contingents hardened as they found themselves looking at the son of the 'Yellow Flash'.

After a near minute of silence, a Kumo Kunoichi stepped towards team 12. "Hmm, an Uzumaki, an Uchiha and a Namikaze. That must make you the so-called 'Prodigal Three," she said with a grin. The nickname earned some snorts around the room. "I guess we'll put that title to the test won't we," she added.

"Yes, I guess we all will," a new female voice said from the front of the room. Many turned to the sound of the new voice. Standing there was a blonde haired, black-eyed woman, perhaps in her mid-twenties. Her Hitai-ate was wrapped around her forehead and she wore a short-sleeved black and purple blouse and pants, purple fingerless gloves and a red belt. Her forearms and lower legs were wrapped in bandages and she was staring down everyone.

"Now if you're all done antagonising one another, I'd like to begin the first stage of the Chūnin Exams. My name is Yugito Nii, I'm the proctor for this first phase. I hope you brought your pencils because first is the written test. A Chūnin will call your name and you will sit where they tell you, anyone, who questions their seat will go out the window," her final few words were punctuated by a wave of killing intent.

Itachi regarded the woman, she felt in a way familiar to the green haired girl Tri had named as Fū, her chakra was different too and she had a lot of it as well. "Oh, and Uzumaki," she said to Tri. "Lose the cloak," Tri just nodded in reply and removed it.

There were a few hundred Genin to go through, so calling all their names took nearly fifteen minutes but eventually, they were all seated. Team 12 all found themselves relatively close together. Itachi was two rows directly in front of Naruto, immediately to the blondes left was Kurotsuchi and directly to hers was Tri. The pink-eyed Kunoichi had ended up a long way away from her teammates and found herself practically surrounded by Genin from Konoha.

"Alright, listen up, I shan't be repeating myself. In front of you, you will find your test papers, in the top right-hand corner, you'll find a zero. To pass you need to raise it to at least six, any lower, you fail."

"How do we do that?" someone near the back shouted. "If you'll shut your mouth long enough, I'll tell you, sort of. Now, I won't tell you much, it's for you to discern but the number is linked into what you write on your paper."

"Now I know many of you won't want to answer the questions yourself but if you are caught cheating, you're disqualified." This brought numerous groans and complaints from across the room. "SILENCE!" Yugito shouted as another wave of killing intent washed over everyone. The room quickly fell silent, "Good. Your hour starts now."

Naruto picked up the pencil and began reading all twelve questions. He concluded that the first few were pretty easy and got progressively harder, the last two or three especially so. They better resembled questions you'd put to an experienced Jōnin. Naruto wasn't all that great at written tests, equations and mental calculations were his weakest subject at the Academy. And he could tell you needed to be very intelligent to be able to answer six of these correctly without cheating.

' _Oh, but of course. That's the point, you are only disqualified for cheating if you are_ _caught_ _cheating. They don't care how to raise your score, so long as your paper says six at the end that's all that matters'_. Naruto was doubly glad that his team had already foreseen Naruto needing help, because of it, Naruto had multiple shadow clones henged to look like insects on Itachi's clothing. They would watch Itachi write out the answer then dispel, thus providing Naruto with the answer. And right on cue, the first clone dispelled, providing Naruto with the answer to the first question, his clone had also seen the zero on Itachi's paper change to one.

'Entwined _to the paper! Get an answer correct and the number_ increases'. He quickly wrote down the answer but the zero didn't increase to one. Confused Naruto went back over his clones memories, including reading the question itself, it was then he noticed that Itachi's first question was ever so slightly different to his. It was a tiny change, but enough of a change to result in a different answer. Naruto changed his answer appropriately and sure enough, the number increased to one.

Itachi could do most of the work for him but he'd have to make a few small changes to get the correct answer. Just then a second clone dispelled and Naruto set to work.

Kurotsuchi was staring at her own test sheet, she'd been able to answer the first few just fine. But she found herself distracted by the two Konoha Genin either side of her. To her right the blonde Namikaze, the 'Yellow Flash' was the bane of her grandfather's existence and his son was sat not two feet away. And to her left was the Uzumaki with the bi-coloured hair, he'd mentioned that they were brothers. _'Adopted perhaps?'_ , she wondered.

She'd watched Naruto write down an answer only to quickly change it. It had allowed her to figure out the connection between correct answers and the number. _'He seems to have found a way to cheat, I wonder what it is?'_. She decided to simply copy his answers, her eyes played to her advantage here, her entire eye was pink, no white sclera, no pupil. It made it very difficult to distinguish what she was actually looking at.

Over the course of ten minutes copying Naruto's answers, she had also noticed the slight question variation too. After copying another answer and modifying it slightly brought her up to six. While she waited for the next answer she looked to her left again. Tri hadn't answered any of the questions at all, his sheet still said zero. But for some reason, he had a fine brush and a small pot of ink. She was about to smirk when the zero suddenly became twelve, _'WHAT?'_ her mind screamed.

Even while Yugito was explaining the test, Tri had only partly been paying attention. He spent her explanation and the first five minutes of the test just analysing the paper itself. _'It's clearly a sealing array. Twelve encrypted circles, one for each question I presume. Which means the answer is already woven into the seal. So if I just remove the answers from the seal altogether'_. Tri channelled chakra into one of his storage seals, a small fine brush and a pot of ink appeared in his hand.

To begin with, Tri disconnected the answer arrays from the display array and spent the next ten minutes identifying the answers in each array. After doing so for all twelve he removed the answers and replaced them with a 'null end'. When he reconnected the display array, the zero faded away to be replaced by a twelve. His work done, Tri sealed away his brush and ink, sat back and dozed through the rest of the test.

Things were far less hectic and more less interesting for Itachi, unlike most he was genuinely smart enough to be able to answer enough of the questions. Keeping in mind that Naruto was receiving the answers through him he answered enough correctly to give him a nine. With his work finished he sat back and looked around the room for the final five minutes.

"All right, times up, pencils down," Yugito ordered. Surveying across the room, about a third had already been removed having been caught cheating. She knew she was about to get rid of a whole lot more. She had yet to get rid of those who hadn't been caught but didn't have a score of six or higher.

"Ok, now I'm going to call out a number, if your sheet has that number, hold it up and a Chūnin will check. You have six or more then you pass. Now, does anyone have a score of twelve?" She knew it was a trick question, it wasn't possible to answer the twelfth question correctly, it didn't have a proper answer. So the surprise on her face was great when the black and red haired Uzumaki held up his sheet.

Her Chūnin assistants were also confused but one of them was soon by Tri's side checking his sheet. "Yugito-sama, he's not lying, it says twelve but not a single question has been answered."

"What? Show me," she ordered holding her hand out as the Chūnin handed it to her. She looked at the sheet and no questions had answers but it clearly said twelve at the top. "Ok, Uzumaki. Explain."

"Your instructions were to raise the score on our sheets to at least six. You never explicitly said we had to answer the questions and you left the cheating element wide open. We'd be punished for cheating if we were caught. I'm really good at Fūinjutsu so I cheated and wasn't caught. If you all look at your sheets, in the border you'll see thirteen circles with patterns in them. Twelve of them contain the answer to one of the questions albeit encrypted and are connected to the dozen answer boxes, while the last one is tied to the number display."

"As for what I did, I first disconnected the display array then deleted all twelve encrypted answers and replaced them with 'Null end's'. A null end is used to complete a seal design. I then reconnected the display array, it's this array that checks whether the correct answer is present. With it reconnected it began checking the stored answers against what I'd written again. But since I'd replaced the answers with nothing, it technically made the answer nothing. And since I'd written nothing, my score displays twelve," Tri finished.

Itachi was grinning, Naruto was outright laughing and after a couple of seconds so was Yugito. "Alright Gaki, you pass. Stand against the wall behind me, there's one more thing I forgot to mention. If one of your team fails, you all fail."  
"That's alright Yugito-proctor-san," Tri replied walking past her to a wave of discontent from many of the remaining Genin. Turning her gaze to the other students they quickly shut up again. "Anyone get eleven?" she asked.

Kurotsuchi was utterly gobsmacked, someone that had slept most of the exam off was the only one to get a full score. She knew a little bit about Fūinjutsu, she knew it was incredibly difficult to learn, a task made harder by the lack of masters in the world. Naruto next to her had finally stopped laughing and was smiling at her. "You alright?"

"Of course I am," she snorted quickly casting off the surprised look on her face. "It's alright to be surprised, that's all part of the exam experience."

Kurotsuchi held up her paper as Yugito called for those with a score of ten as she looked away, intending to ignore him. She knew, however, that he was partly right. These exams always threw up surprises. Itachi held up his paper with a score of nine while Naruto had eight.

It took nearly twenty minutes to get through everyone that had passed. Everyone that had failed was shuffled out of the room. Naruto winced slightly upon finding that they were the only Konoha team that passed the first test.

"Okay, now it's time to pass you onto the proctor for the second test. You are expected at the main gate by five to midday, if you're late you'll be disqualified. And make sure you and your team are packed for nearly a week." Immediately upon finishing her speech, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The remaining teams set their own individual pace, team 12 took it easy and casually walked, they had nearly over twenty minutes to get there, there was no need to rush.

"All on your own now, Konoha scum." The three stopped and turned to find a Kumo team standing behind them. "Sorry but, do we know you?" Naruto asked. "No, but you will. You'd better watch your backs out there during the second test. Never know who's going to be there to stick a kunai in you."

"Don't worry yourselves Kumo-san, if you're what we've got to worry about then we need not worry," Naruto retorted. One of the three Kumo Genin had to put a restraining hand on the shoulder of another. "Alright Shurki, calm down. Wait until the exam starts then we'll jump them," he whispered. "I'd listen to your friend, Kumo-san," Tri added.

"Tri, Naruto. Let's go," Itachi snapped, reigning the two brothers in from making any more verbal jabs. With that, the three of them disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

- **Raikage's Office** -

"Come in," A spoke. He put the dumbbell that was near permanently in hand down as Yugito entered his office. "Ah Yugito, I take it the first test is done?"

"It is Raikage-sama," the blonde Jinchuriki replied coming to a stop in front of A's desk. "Your report, Yugito," the powerhouse of a man asked. "29 teams from 121 have progressed to the second test, all the individuals you asked me to keep an eye on passed. The first test threw up a few surprises too." A raised eyebrow from her leader giving her leave to continue.

"We got a score of twelve on the test," she said holding the sheet out in front of her. A went wide-eyed as he took the paper from her and looked for himself. "I was under the impression that there wasn't an actual answer to the last question so you could only get a maximum score of eleven."

"And you would be correct, Raikage-sama. But one of the Genin simply changed the answers." A was still looking at the sheet, it was empty. "How? there aren't any answers on this, yet the score says twelve," he said holding it up.

"I know, the Genin in question spent the start of the test analysing the seals, he then got into the seal array's holding the answers and simply removed those answers and replaced them with nothing. And since he hadn't written anything he was technically correct on every question." A laughed, a deep rumbling laugh. "Did you get this Genin's name?"  
"Hai, Raikage-sama, Uzumaki Tri."  
"What team is he on? I assume this Uzumaki's teammates passed."  
"They did Raikage-sama, he's on Konoha's team 12 with Uchiha Itachi and Namikaze Naruto."  
"Ah the so-called Prodigal Three. Yugito, I want you to shadow them during the second test, don't reveal yourself, just observe them."

* * *

- **Kumo Entrance Courtyard** -

"Good, it seems you all made it across the village without issue and you've all signed your wavers," deadpanned the proctor for their second exam. "My name is Darui and I'll be your proctor for the second phase of the Chūnin exams." The 87 Genin looked up at a tall man with dark skin and shaggy white hair. He wore a high-collared sleeveless uniform with a one-strap-over-one-shoulder flak jacket on top with loose fitting pants. His sandals were black and he had a tattoo on each shoulder.

"For those of you who have made it to the second phase, I congratulate you but I am sorry to say that only seven teams at the most will make it to the third phase. I hold in my hand a scroll. There are seven available, having one gets you to the finals."

"To retrieve one of these you'll be leaving the village. Along Kaminari no Kuni's south and south-eastern coast is Genbu: the Island Turtle, Genbu is a colossal floating island. It is our equivalent of Konoha's forest of death or Suna's Demon Desert. The island is home to a host of dangerous animals, on this island you'll find a building that contains these scrolls. You may only take one, I wouldn't recommend finding out what happens should you take more."

"After you've gotten a scroll you need to return it to the village and present it to one of the guards on duty. You do that you're safe and we'll be seeing you in the finals. But should you manage to get a scroll then every other team is going to be after you. You and the scroll aren't safe until you get back here. Know that people die in this phase of the exams. You have five days."

Darui looked up at a large clock overlooking the courtyard. "The moment the bell rings for the twelfth time, the test begins," Darui finished as the clock rang once.

Team 17 from Iwagakure were ready, Deidara had that ever-present smirk/ sneer on his face even though half his face was covered by a blonde bang. Kurotsuchi for some reason found herself staring at the blonde Namikaze across the courtyard, she also noticed a group of Suna Genin glaring at her.

Twice.

Kushina was sat in a chair outside overlooking the back garden, she was watching Rezano practise his Shuriken. _'I wonder how Naruto-chan and Tri-chan are doing?'_

Three.

Team 4 from Kumogakure were ready, the trio of Karui, Omoi and Atsui. Although instead of ready it seemed like Karui was berating Omoi non-stop.

Four.

Minato was sat at his desk, going through yet another pile of paperwork. Deciding he'd had enough for right now he spun around in his chair and stood. Behind his desk was a wide window that overlooked the village. _'I wonder how they're doing? The exams start today'_

Five.

Team 2 from Takigakure were ready, the trio of Fū, Yōrō and Kegon. Fū, as their Jinchuriki was the lynchpin in Taki's hopes of re-establishing its reputation.

Six.

Tsunade and Shizune were lazing the day away, truthfully they were distracted today. The thoughts of both were to the far north-east and the three Genin they'd helped build.

Seven.

Gai was in the midst of training as he always was. He'd just finished his daily 25 laps around the entire village, as he slowed to a stop, his mind turned to the three Genin he'd helped train. "While I cannot see them, I can feel the power of their youth even from here!" And with that he was off again, having decided to double his training for the day.

Eight.

Hiruzen was sat at a table. He was still at his home on the Sarutobi estate. Just like the others, his thoughts were elsewhere. He wasn't nervous for them, he knew they were good enough with Itachi's eyes, Tri's speed and Naruto's strength. He smiled as he silently wished them luck.

Nine.

Itachi wasn't watching the clock like most of the other teams Genin were. He knew his team were quick so moving a half-second later was going to count for very little. From the proctor's description, it sounded like this island was off-shore, he was rather glad he'd been present for the water walking lessons with Shizune-san.

Ten.

Tri was casting his gaze over the assembled teams awaiting the twelfth toll of the bell. He'd noticed the pink eyes of Kurotsuchi looking their way, staring at Naruto. While he was doing up his cloak he wondered why she was looking at his blonde brother, Tri guessed that for years her grandfather had filled her head with horror stories of Minato Namikaze besting a thousand Iwa shinobi single-handedly. _'Perhaps that is what intrigued her, her grandfather's descriptions of Minato and his son and what she's now seen of the actual Naruto don't match.'_

Eleven.

Naruto had a wide grin on his face, a floating island turtle, a host of killer animals, a five-day time limit. He rarely found himself so excited, he'd already figured out how they were going to find the island in no time. _'Time to show everyone, what I can do!'_

Twelve. Darui watched the courtyard, one second it was full, the next it was empty as the Genin shot out of the gate and into the mountains of Kaminari no Kuni. The second test had begun.

* * *

End Chapter


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 **BalthazartheAngel: Yes, there will be other pairings but none of them will form for some time and in time you should be able to see them form as chapters go by. Or at least I hope you do, it's a personal challenge of sorts, 'Can I write long term Romantic relationships that are subtle.'**

The Second Test

* * *

The second test was twenty minutes old and Team 12 had quickly taken the lead, their superior speed allowing them to pull away from the other teams. "Ok Naruto, we should be out of earshot of the other teams. What's this plan you mentioned?" Tri shouted to the blonde ahead of him, Naruto, who'd taken point slowed until he was in between Tri and Itachi.

"We use Shadow clones, we continue on like this for another half hour. Then you and me," he said pointing at Tri, "create five shadow clones each. We continue south-eastwards while my clones head south, yours go east. When my clones reach the coast, two go east, three west. When your's get to the coast, three go east, two west. This way we can cover far more of the coast."

"And find the island faster," Itachi finished. "Exactly. We should reach the coast by late afternoon/ early evening. What we do over the night, however, I've no idea."

"Moving around in the dark is just asking for a whole bunch of problems," Itachi said remembering the night-time training they'd done with Genma-Sensei. "You can't see traps, natural obstacles, other teams amongst many other things," the Uchiha added. "Why don't we pick up the pace and ensure we reach the coast before the sun goes down. If we haven't found the island when we get there I'll create a few more shadow clones and they'll go either east or west and we go the opposite way," Tri suggested.

Naruto looked at Itachi, he nodded his liking to the plan. "Ok Tri, let's do it," Naruto said before the three of them disappeared in a flicker.

About 100 feet behind them was Kumogakure's team 22. They'd been trying to keep up with Konoha team 12 and were only just managing to hang on to their coattails. "Where'd they go?" one said quickly looking around for any imminent threat. "They're going even faster? Did they notice us another said.

"It doesn't matter," the third growled, "we'll run into them at some point and there'll be nowhere for them to run."

They weren't the only ones trailing team 12, Yugito had followed them out of the village as the Raikage had ordered. She had been close enough to listen to them devise their plan to find the island, she'd been impressed to hear their intent to use shadow clones. _'Do they really have the chakra for so many shadow clones'_. She blinked and almost missed them up their speed. _'They were sandbagging? Oh, this should be fun'_ she thought as she upped her own speed to match them.

She followed them for hours, they cut an impressive pace. They'd long since left any other team behind. _'Not too bad for kids, nowhere near my fastest, but impressive regardless'_. In her time observing them, they rarely spoke, they moved in a modified arrow formation. Naruto took point, Tri was slightly behind and to the left while Itachi was slightly further back on the right. _'They've thought out their formation and made it suit them, too many Genin teams forget to move in formation all together'_.

They'd created their shadow clones some time ago. She had to admit, the plan was simple but very clever. When the clones reached the coast, the splitting up clones would allow them to cover swathes of the coastline in hours. Yugito knew where the turtle would be and listening to the latest conversation ahead of her, they now knew too.

"Naruto, Itachi. My clones have found the island, it's further to the east, we'll need to hurry, however, it looks like a weather front is approaching from the south. We might lose it in the fog." Without a word, they all turned south-east-east.

The ocean was now only a few miles away. The terrain had changed too, it was less rugged, there were fewer cliffs with more trees and general greenery.

' _To have nearly reached the coast and located the turtle before nightfall on day one is impressive. I wonder if the record for this Exam might fall. Now how will you tackle the island?'_

Their journey continued for another hour before they broke through a tree line to find themselves on a rocky beach and off in the distance they could see the island. "That is one weird looking island," Itachi noted. "Looks more like a floating hedgehog or porcupine," Naruto added. "So, what's the plan for the island?" the blonde inquired.

"Leave it to me," both Naruto and Itachi gave Tri a weird look. "What, you want to do the island on your own?"

"Tri, we know you're the fastest of us, but are you fast enough to evade all the threats you might find?" Naruto asked. Tri simply nodded, "For one, all my weight seals are still active and two, remember our day with Anko-san?" The two shuddered at being reminded of the day they'd been left in Anko's care.

It wasn't really training per say, it involved Anko and her snakes chasing them through the forest of death, hours of dodging the Jōnin and native wildlife, hours they didn't wish to repeat anytime soon.

"Alright then Tri. If you're doing this, then wait until sunrise. And you won't be taking watch tonight, we'll do that and await your return. It will allow me and Naruto to keep an eye on the other teams should any arrive." Tri nodded in agreement, "Alright you two, I'll take first watch. Itachi I'll wake you about five hours before dawn."

They located a suitable location to make camp for the night amongst the trees, they made a small shielded fire so no one would see the flames, Genma had taught them how to make and maintain a fire by civilian means. The inside of Tri's cloak carried weeks' worth of already prepared or pre-made food in some of his storage seals. They ate quickly and in silence before Tri and Itachi went to sleep.

They weren't expecting any other teams to stumble on them in the dead of night. Regardless, however, they slept in the trees, if another team were to attack the camp, they'd be attacking dummies left on the ground. Yugito settled down for the night a few hundred feet away, any closer and they might notice her.

The night was neither warm nor cold and it passed without incident. Itachi had relieved Naruto of guard duties as intended. And as the darkness began to fade, telling of the sun's imminent arrival on the horizon Tri woke, ready to contest the island. "Itachi," Tri whispered appearing next to him, "Anything happening out there?" He shook his head, "No, it's been a quiet night, quiet for our guest too."  
"They reveal themselves or their chakra stick out?" Tri asked with a grin. "The chakra sticks out. It's the same chakra as the proctor you befriended yesterday."  
"I guess the powers that be in Kumo are interested in us," Tri laughed. "Anyway, I'm gonna get going. If you and Naruto do need to move, try to keep your movement westwards so I can get back to you," Itachi nodded his understanding as Tri vanished again.

' _Now who will our little spy follow?'_ The Uchiha wondered, he got his answer as the chakra seemed to split in two with one half following after Tri. _'Shadows Clones, I presume'_.

Yugito had her clone remain ashore, while she would follow Tri. She didn't want to risk her shadow clone being dispelled whilst observing. She peered through the treeline to find Tri stood feet from the ocean, his arms were together, hands clamped to the opposite arm just below the elbow. He was just loud enough for Yugito to hear him. "Weight Seals, Kai."

In an instant he was gone, ripples in the waves the only sign of his prior presence. Yugito gasped, _'Ok, now that is impressive,'_ she thought. "That's speed you'd expect from an experienced Chūnin maybe even some Jōnin, not a Genin. Seems Raikage-sama made the right call telling me to follow these three," she muttered as she shot off after him.

Tri literally skated across the water, the chakra around his feet allowing him to glide across the water as if it were ice. 'Water Skating' as it was known was the third step in chakra aided movement. First was tree-climbing, next came water walking and a few months ago Genma-Sensei had introduced them to water skating. It was easier on lakes since oceans and rivers moved but Tri's control and training were more than sufficient.

The island had moved during the night, it was further out to sea and had moved a little to the south-west. Tri had guessed the distance at around two to three miles, he estimated it would take him ten minutes to arrive. He used the time to make sure his seal laden bandages were prepared, he didn't know what to expect. The forest of death featured oversized tigers, monstrous spiders giant leeches, bears, and that was just the fauna. There were also poisonous plants and others that could eat a person whole you had to look out for.  
He assumed the threats would be similar as he continued his charge towards Genbu. He wanted this done quickly so they could start on their way back.

The ten minutes flew by and he soon reached the island, it didn't have a beach coastline per say. They were more short cliffs but it presented no issue as he jumped from the water onto the cliff and ran up the vertical surface. Reaching the top he got his first proper look at the island, there were plenty of trees just like training ground 44, but towering over them was what looked like spikes. He walked up to one of them and rapped his knuckles off of it. _'Huh, feels and sounds like stone'_. He shrugged his shoulders and formed the clone seal. **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,"** around him appeared a dozen clones.

"You know what the scroll looks like, first to find it wins!"

"Yosh!" they all shouted as they all shot off into the interior of the island. The original, however, was stood stock staring at the low branch of a nearby tree. Perched on the branch was a small black bird that stared back, ' _Is that a Raven? Curious creature_ '. Tri shrugged before beginning his search for the scroll.

* * *

The sun had been in the sky for near an hour and team 17 had split up on their way to the coast as soon as it had. They were to make their way to the coastline and reunite later on. Deidara had gone south-west, Yama had gone south and Kurotsuchi had gone south-east. And despite how often she looked over her shoulder, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being followed.

She looked ahead again but quickly looked back again as she heard the tell-tale sound of a shuriken. She was able to quickly jump to the right but the shuriken left a shallow cut in her left arm. _'I can't stay still, I have to keep moving and try to lose whoever this is'_. Her assailants cover was blown she was able to spot at least four, maybe five individuals.

Little did Kurotsuchi know that help was closer at hand than she could have realised.

The chase continued for five, then ten, then fifteen minutes. She dodged the shuriken and the kunai, seemingly annoyed with their lack of success her assailants changed tact. The first clue, the only clue she got was a hiss. A hiss that soon became an explosion, it was close enough to throw her against a tree trunk with a thud.

By the time she managed to pull herself to her feet the chasing pack had surrounded her. Around her were 12 Sunagakure Genin. "Four entire teams for little ol' me, I don't know whether that's a compliment to me or an insult to you," she shouted out to them. "Brave one aren't you, but there is a dozen of us and now you're all alone and punishment will now be exacted for Iwagakure's crimes against Sunagakure," one of the twelve shouted back as they closed in from all sides.

"Well, you were half right, there are twelve of you," a voice from above them shouted out. All looked up and found.. nothing. It was only when they looked back down at Kurotsuchi they noticed she had a Konoha Genin flanking either side of her. A stoic face with black hair and a wide grin with blonde. Kurotsuchi was just as confused as the Suna Genin were. "Why are you helping her? You've just as much cause to hate Iwagakure as we do."  
"Not really, I'd never met or in fact seen anyone from Iwagakure before the lady to my left. The problems Iwagakure have with my tou-san, and the problems my tou-san has with Iwagakure are for them, neither concerns nor involves me," Naruto stated, folding his arms.

He was getting weird looks from everywhere, even the Kunoichi next to him looked as if she couldn't quite process what he'd said. "So, shall we get on with it?" Itachi cut through the silence. "What, without the third member of your team, the darling of the first test not going to show himself?"  
"Don't worry about him, he's otherwise occupied," Itachi voice was as calm as always. "Alright leafies, last chance. Walk away and leave pinkie with us and you can walk away." Naruto dropped the smirk on his face and replaced it with a serious look, "No chance."

With the talking at an end, the first shuriken flew through the air which Itachi blocked with one of his own. Two more were thrown, again Itachi blocked. More and more shuriken were blocked every time by Itachi.

Naruto laughed, "Lesson one: Uchiha's are really good with shuriken, especially Itachi here. Lesson Two: I am really good with shadow clones," he boasted. His boasts drew looks of confusion then the shadows appeared around the Suna 12, the shadows quickly got bigger as the first looked up. Naruto savoured the look of absolute shock as one by one they discovered a small army of Naruto's dropping down on them from the treetops. Kurotsuchi quickly looked either side of her to find the blonde and the Uchiha gone.

"I am not being left out of this!" was her defiant shout as she pulled a kunai in each hand and joined the fray. The clones served little more than to be distractions, the real Naruto went right, Itachi went left while Kurotsuchi went down the centre.

Two Suna Genin, having seen off the clones attacking them each drew a kunai and beelined straight for her. One went low, the other high. She jumped forward through the middle, twisting her body she blocked a downward kunai slash from the left and cut the other across the arm before cutting the first across the top of the thigh. Quickly landing on her feet she turned, intending to put one of them down, one was knelt down while the other turned to face her. She threw her kunai to buy her a moment, she flashed through hand signs before slamming her palms into the ground, **"Doton: Doryūsō,"** (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears). The spikes of earth shot from the ground, impaling both through the lower leg.

The spears were narrow and broke off in their flesh as the impaled Genin went down with screams, despite her training she still wasn't quite desensitised to the blood and agonizing screams that both Suna Genin emitted.

Shaking it off, she lifted her head to survey the battle. Naruto and a few clones were handling a half-dozen while Itachi was taking on another three. _'Where's the twelfth one?'_ As the thought ran through her mind, her instincts screamed at her to move. Not wasting any time she jumped up, barely half a second later a Fūma shuriken tore through where she had been standing, embedding itself deeply in a tree. She cast several shuriken of her own where she thought the thrower was, she was relieved to hear a pained grunt as two shuriken found the Suna nin's arm.

A Naruto clone quickly rendered them unconscious. Three down, nine to go.

Despite the three on one disadvantage, Itachi's greater skill level and Sharingan allowed him to keep the trio facing him at a distance. The four of them had gone for a Taijutsu engagement with the odd kunai. Everything passed in slow-motion for Itachi, one of the traits of his eyes, he could perceive every punch, every kick, every swing of a kunai and react accordingly.

Itachi ducked under a fist before replying with a fist of his own, straight into the boy's ribs, he felt them give way ever so slightly. _'Fractured, I think.'_ He thought as they stumbled back, taking advantage he delivered a spinning back kick. His foot connecting with their temple, they were out cold before they hit the floor.

Itachi gained some distance on the remaining two and found himself back to back with Naruto. Naruto had managed to deal with another but that left seven against their two. "Itachi, you got anything that can deal with all of them?"

"Hai, I got something that might work, at the very least it should thin them out," he replied forming the tiger seal. Silently he cast his Jutsu.

All around them, feathers began to fall. Many didn't know what to think of it. Making sure as few as possible were watching him, Naruto formed the ram seal, "Kai," he whispered as he released the Genjutsu, Kurotsuchi saw him as did two of the Suna Genin. The three of them repeated his actions, dispersing the feathers falling around them. It was too late for the other five, however, each collapsing to the ground, fast asleep.

"I didn't know you could do the **Nehan Shōja no Jutsu** (Temple of Nirvana Technique) Itachi?" Naruto exclaimed, his teammate only smiled, "It's not all I know," he stated as he flew through a few more hand signs before he shimmered away. Suddenly both remaining Suna Genin couldn't move, they found themselves restrained by a tree. Their eyes widened in horror as the Uchiha suddenly emerged from the tree, kunai in hand. Itachi brought the kunai down and stabbed both in the shoulder. The pain broke the Genjutsu but both fell to the ground grasping at their wounds.

" **Magen: Jubaku Satsu** (Demonic Illusion: Tree binding Death) too huh, you have been a busy bee." Naruto shot forward as he spoke and quickly rendered the final two unconscious.

The fight had barely lasted a few minutes, "You know, that was rather disappointing for twelve against three," Naruto muttered as he knelt down and used some of the basic medical Ninjutsu Tsunade had taught him to stem the bleeding. He didn't particularly want the Suna Genin to bleed out. He felt someone walk up behind him. "Why are you healing them?" a feminine voice asked. "I might not appreciate their actions towards you but Suna and Konoha are technically allies. So it probably wouldn't go down well if the son of the Hokage let a few sand Genin bleed to death."

"Hmph, fine," was her reply, she noticed Itachi was doing the same to the two she'd impaled through the legs. "You know, I'm surprised you didn't take the opportunity to slip away," Naruto asked her. She snorted, "Don't look into it too much, my grandfather would string me up if he discovered I ran from a fight."

"Aww," Naruto lamented. "And here I thought you stuck around because of my good looks." Again Kurotsuchi snorted, seeing the opportunity to tease her further Naruto spoke again. "Shame and here I was about to compliment those dazzling eyes of yours." She had to quickly look away as a tinge of pink dusted the tops of her cheeks.

He let her stew for a few moments before speaking again. "Do you want me to see to that cut on your arm?" Naruto asked her. She looked at her right arm and while the cut wasn't deep, it was deep enough that the wound was still bleeding. Internally she groaned, she knew next to nothing about medical care, definitely not enough to clean, disinfect and bind the wound one-handed. Begrudgingly she raised her arm.

Naruto placed a supporting hand under her elbow to hold the arm still as he held the other over the cut. His hand began to glow green as he slowly undid the damage. Naruto couldn't help but notice how soft her skin was as he held her arm. After a few minutes, he'd stopped the bleeding and closed the wound. A small surge of chakra later and a clean cloth appeared in his hand. "Itachi," he said throwing the cloth that he effortlessly caught out of the air before giving the blonde a questioning look. "I need you to first wet it and then heat it."

The questioning look continued. "My hands are otherwise occupied and I can't manipulate Katon chakra," he explained. Itachi shrugged his shoulders before emptying a water bottle over the cloth. He concentrated and released a small stream of flames from his mouth that he held the cloth close to and within a few seconds he could feel the temperature rise. His task complete he threw the cloth back to Naruto.

Feeling the heat in his hand he nodded his thanks to Itachi. "This'll be really warm," he warned as he began to wipe the blood from her arm, starting around the wound he made his way down her arm. Past the elbow, across the forearm, around the wrist, over the top of her hand. Finally, he turned her hand over and wiped her palm. Discarding the now red cloth, another dry clean cloth appeared in his hand which he used to dry her arm.

He finished by wrapping the injury with bandages. "It should fully heal in a day or two and I don't think it will scar. Kurotsuchi lightly fingered the bandages around her arm. She'd been expecting his hands to be rough and his medical care to be callous. But he hadn't, his hands were gentle and the way he'd healed the wound, cleaned away the blood had been.. caring.

"Thank you," she quietly said. Naruto gave her a warm smile, "Your welcome Kurotsuchi-san."  
"Itachi, will the rest going to be ok?" he asked turning to face him. "Yes, they should be fine, these two will have trouble walking for a while though. Thankfully she missed the bones, otherwise, they may have needed crutches for the rest of their lives."  
"They shouldn't have attacked me then," Kurotsuchi brushed off Itachi's comment. Naruto chuckled, "Well, I suppose that's true."

"You mentioned he was busy but where is your teammate exactly?"  
"He's retrieving the scroll from the island. And where are both of your teammates?" She looked at him with a light scowl before relenting, "Touché, my team split up to find the island. Wait, hang on, you let him travel to the island alone?" Naruto nodded, "Yeah, he's quick on his feet. He'll be fine."  
"What, quick enough to avoid any potential threat?" Itachi was the one who answered, "Yes, if there is a faster Genin in these Exams. I'd like to meet them." She didn't know whether to believe him or not, _'but then again this team aren't an ordinary team'_.

"I presume your the reason I've been sneezing just now?" A voice above them said. Looking up they found Tri sitting on a high branch. "You found the scroll already, Tri?" Itachi shouted up to him. He disappeared from the branch and reappeared in front of them. "Hai," he stated as a black scroll, exactly like the one Darui had shown them yesterday appeared in his hand. "All the scrolls are in the same location so I know I was the first one there. What happened here?"

Four Suna teams decided to take out their grievances on Kurotsuchi-san here," Naruto explained. Tri replaced the scroll in a storage seal as he turned to face her, "You alright?"  
"Besides this cut, I'm fine," she said showing him the bandages. "Good," he bluntly stated. With a raised eyebrow she asked, "Why is that good?"  
"Because compared to pretty much all the Kunoichi, hell nearly all the Genin in these Exams, you're actually interesting. You aren't for a lack of better term, a 'pushover'." Kurotsuchi couldn't decide whether he'd complimented her or not.

"Can we get going? I don't particularly like the wilderness in this part of the world," Itachi asked. "Yeah, alright Itachi. Tri, let's go." His bi-colour haired brother nodded, but before jumping away he shunshined straight in front of Kurotsuchi. Placing a hand on her shoulder, "When you get to the island, look for a temple near the turtles head." With that, he vanished along with his team leaving the Iwa Kunoichi on her own with twelve unconscious Suna Genin. Deciding she didn't want to be around should those sleeping wake up she quickly made herself scarce too.

* * *

Team 12 successfully avoided contact with any other Genin team on their way back to the village. Barring one occasion where they nearly ran straight into an Ame team, they were untroubled. The return journey with one of the scrolls had, however, proven far more difficult. The journey to find the island tested a teams ability to move with speed to find their goal, the island itself was the same, only more dangerous. Returning the scroll to Kumo tested a teams ability to move quickly and with stealth. A team that possessed all these traits would likely find themselves progressing to the final stage.

"Oh come on you three, the test isn't even thirty five hours old yet," one of the Kumo gate guards exclaimed as Team 12 arrived in front of them, their young faces a mixture of bewilderment and amusement. "Why are you assuming we want to withdraw from the second test? We're finished. Tri, if you would." Naruto said, in Tri's hand appeared one of the seven scrolls needed to pass the second Exam.

"As you can see guard-san. We pass… So, what do we do with the scroll?" Neither of the guards answered courtesy of the looks of utter shock on their faces. Naruto waved his hand in front of one of their faces, "Hello? Anybody there?"  
"Y-You present the scroll to the proctor," one finally responded pointing to the courtyard they'd left the previous afternoon. The sun had gone down a couple hours earlier but they'd decided to push on to Kumo to avoid being jumped during the night. "Arigato," Naruto said throwing a wave over his shoulder.

Sure enough, sat at a table at one end of the courtyard was one incredibly bored looking Darui. "Proctor-san," Naruto shouted as he shunshined over to him, his teammates in tow. The proctor was leaning on the back two legs of his chair as Tri presented him with the scroll. Darui locked eyes on the scroll and proceeded to fall backwards off his chair, his head bouncing off the ground with a thud. Quickly scrambling back to his feet whilst rubbing the quickly growing bump on his head, he grabbed the scroll from them and checked it over for the slightest flaw. "I don't believe it, you actually finished the exam. Um, sorry but uh, who are you?"

"Team 12, Konoha," Itachi stated bluntly.

Uh right, yeah, sorry. Team 12, you pass with a time of 1 day, 9 hours." The three of them backed up slowly as the man looked like he was about to have a breakdown, "Let's go find Genma-Sensei," Naruto whispered from behind his hand.

* * *

"So Genma-san, what are your team actually like? I won't beat around the bush when I say that every village has picked up on your three Genin through their intelligence networks." Genma was in Kumo's Jōnin standby station, he and most of the other Jōnin who's teams were competing in the second exam where there, killing the five days that encompassed the test. And Genma was bored stiff, worse yet, word had gotten around about how easily his team had passed the first test.

"They're mature beyond their years, where most Jōnin sensei have to start with the basics such as tree climbing and the like. I didn't have to do anything like that, I took charge of Genin that you'd probably have mistaken for Chūnin. Hell if it weren't for the age restrictions now in place in Konoha, they wouldn't be far from their Jōnin trials already," he said casually as if it were common knowledge, which in Konoha it was. But here it came across more as shameless boasting.

"Hmph, look at the Konoha Jōnin hyping up his already over-hyped Genin." Genma was about to throw a retort back but a Kumo Chūnin entered the room before he could. "Shiranui Genma, your team are waiting outside for you." Not wasting any time, he stood and walked out of the room. "Chūnin-san, tell me. How beat up must they be to have to have withdrawn after barely a day?" The Chūnin gave him a confused look, "You misunderstand, Konoha's Team 12 have passed the second test," the Chūnin replied as he saw himself out, closing the door to utter silence. Meanwhile, Genma walked down the corridor with a wide grin on his face.

* * *

"Come in," A called out, hearing a knock on his office door. He'd been staring out the window that his office overlooked. He didn't know how long he'd been sat there just looking out the window, but he remembered the sun was still in the sky when he'd started. He quickly spun in his chair as he recognised Yugito's voice as she greeted him. "You're back awfully early Yugito." She had a grin on her face, "You were right to have me watch them Raikage-sama," she replied. "And why's that?"  
"Because they've just passed the second test."

* * *

The five days of the second test had come and gone. All seven scrolls had been returned to Kumogakure, the final one returning with hours to spare.

The seven teams were lined up in front of Darui and some looked far worse than others. Darui opened a scroll in his hands and began reading from it. "In seventh place with a time of 4 days and 21 hours, Team 23, Kumogakure. Sixth Place with a time of 4 days and 17 hours, Team 22, Kumogakure. Fifth place with a time of 4 days and 3 hours, Team 7, Sunagakure. Fourth place with a time of 3 days and 19 hours, Team 2, Takigakure. Third place with a time of 3 days and 17 hours, Team 4, Kumogakure."

"There's a lot of Kumo teams," Naruto noted looking around. "Yeah, our new best friends included," Tri replied pointing with his chin towards the team who'd confronted them before the second test. "Second place in what would have been a record setting time of 2 days and 20 hours, Team 17, Iwagakure. And finally in first place with a record setting time of 1 day and 9 hours, Team 12, Konoha."

The glares they got from the Kumo teams only served to widen the grin on Naruto's face. Genma-sensei had already informed them they'd broken the record but to hear it said out loud in public was satisfying.

"But now I feel I must apologise," Darui continued, "Who can figure out why?"  
"There are too many of us," the green haired Taki Genin cheerfully shouted to Darui. The assembled Genin looked around in confusion, after a few seconds Tri smiled, "She's right there are too many."  
"What do you mean Tr… Oh, I see," Itachi said, catching on. "What? What do you mean there are too many of us?" Naruto asked of his two teammates. Before either could reply Darui spoke again.

"Yes as some of you will have realised, there are simply too many of you. There are 16 spots in the third and final round of these Exams and there are 21 of you. So we still need to get rid another five of you. Now as reward for finishing fastest, the four fastest teams are given byes straight to the finals." The three remaining teams started to shout and complain but Darui quickly cut them off, "SILENCE," he shouted, "Perhaps in future you'll learn to finish your task faster."

"So will Team 7, Sunagakure and teams 22 and 23 from Kumogakure step forward." The nine of them did as asked, one was far slower than the rest. One of the Kumo Genin was having to use crutches to walk, one of their legs wrapped in a splint. "The bouts to decide the final four spots will being momentarily. Do any of you wish to withdraw?" As Darui expected the Genin with the broken leg raised their hand, a look of massive frustration across his face, the remaining eight didn't budge. "Very well, then eight of you will contest the four remaining places."

The matches had taken place in the Chūnin arena, none of them had taken very long and then they were sixteen. One of the Suna and three Kumo Genin had gotten through the playoff bouts.

"Alright, now we have the right number of you, we're going to draw the bouts for the finals. All your names have been entered into the computer and they will be drawn at random on the screen behind me. Good luck to you all." Darui moved to stand next to Yugito as the screen began spinning through the sixteen names. A few seconds past and the board stopped and displayed two names.

Match 1:  
Uchiha Itachi, Konohagakure  
Vs  
Sajin, Sunagakure

Naruto gave Itachi a pat on the shoulder, "First out the hat, huh Itachi." Itachi looked around for the sole Sunagakure Hitai-ate. The two locked eyes before Itachi gave him a brief nod as the screen started again. A couple of seconds passed before it stopped again.

Match 2:  
Deidara, Iwagakure  
Vs  
Yōrō, Takigakure

The ever-present grin on Deidara's face widen as he got seemingly one of the easier first rounds.

Match 3:  
Uzumaki Tri, Konohagakure  
Vs  
Kanui, Kumogakure

Kanui couldn't believe his luck, a chance to get some payback against one of the Hokage's sons for the deaths of many of his extended family at the hands of Konoha shinobi in wars gone by. Tri was utterly indifferent, he held no concerns over his first round opponent, he had already turned his attention to the next draw, he'd face the winner of that match in the second round.

Match 4:  
Fū, Takigakure  
Vs  
Omōi, Kumogakure

Fū gave a friendly wave to Omōi. "She seems friendly enough, but what if she's really strong, what if she can draw on the power of some monster that makes her really strong. What," *Smack*. "Shut up! Baka!" his teammate Karui shouted after hitting him on the head. Only Tri noticed the flicker of sadness cross Fū's eyes.

Match 5:  
Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, Konohagakure  
Vs  
Shurki, Kumogakure

"Oh dear," Yugito muttered. "Two of the Hokage's sons against two Kumo Genin who hate the hidden leaf, we might have a fatality in the finals." Meanwhile Shurki and Kanui were practically dancing together at such a prospect. Naruto just rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the screen.

Match 6:  
Karui, Kumogakure  
Vs  
Yama. Takigakure

And with that Naruto had his two potential second round opponents, like his brother he had no concerns over his first round match.

Match 7:  
Atsui, Kumogakure  
Vs  
Senba, Kumogakure

And with that there were only two names remaining and sure enough:

Match 8:  
Kurotsuchi, Iwagakure

Vs  
Kegon, Takigakure

With the drawing of the final two names, the first round matches were set. Darui stepped forward again as he addressed them one last time. "Well, there you go, you know your opponents. The finals will take place in this stadium exactly one month tomorrow. Don't be late."

The Jōnin sensei's had stood away from the remaining Genin but with the draw made they began to make their way to their teams. "Alright guys, What're your thoughts?" Genma asked. Many of the other Genin were trying to act tough, that ridiculous walk with the back straightened and shoulders held high, the attempts at an evil grin and the making eye contact with everything with a pulse.

Naruto was the first to respond, "I don't think any of us are that fussed by our first round opponents, one of Karui or Yama doesn't concern me greatly in the second round either."  
"Yeah, Naruto has the easiest route to the semi-finals. Itachi against Deidara will be interesting but I'll admit Fū has me concerned, she's the only one in the finals who has more chakra than me, she might be the youngest but she is strong. Then of course I expect I'll be facing this one in the semi-finals if I make it," he said jokingly hiking a thumb at Itachi. The Uchiha just rolled his eyes at his friends attempt at humour, Tri's sense of humour only came on strong if he was throwing insults or being sarcastic.

"Are you three ready? I want to get you all back to Konoha as soon as we can." His Genin all nodded, as they all readied to depart, Naruto noticed Kurotsuchi staring at him, he met her gaze with a grin. A quick wink and he was gone.

' _Interesting indeed'_.

* * *

End Chapter


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Intermissions

* * *

"Ah, it's good to be home again," Naruto happily declared as they reached the main gate of Konoha. As always the same two Chūnin manned the check-in station, "Hey! Kotetsu-san, Izumo-san!" Naruto shouted over to them as they approached the small wooden booth. While other villages had guards stationed just outside the entrance, Konoha preferred their check-in station just within the villages outer boundaries. It didn't mean no one was guarding the entrance however, there was normally an ANBU squad nearby. Konoha preferred to encounter potential threats far from the village through its substantial patrol schedule.

Nations like Kumogakure didn't have to worry about this issue quite so much because their land border with other nations was tiny compared to Hi no Kuni's.

"Hey, Naruto-san, how'd you do? The blonde gave them a thumbs up, "We all made the finals, just like I told ya," he proudly proclaimed. Naruto had been somewhat relieved they'd all made the finals since he may have spent the last few days before they'd left telling everyone who would listen that they were going all the way.

Genma signed them all in and turned to face them. "Ok, you three, go home, I'll brief the Hokage on your performance. Take tomorrow off too. Now I remember you mentioning that you'd made prior arrangements over who'll be training with you for the next few weeks but if you want me to help then you know where to find me."  
"Hai Sensei," a curt nod from Genma was followed by a swirl of leaves as he shunshined away.

"So who's doing what?" Naruto asked turning to his teammates. "I was going to train with Gai-sensei but Fū becoming my second round opponent changes things. I think I'll ask Hiruzen-sama-sensei for help on this one." Naruto nodded, "Itachi?"  
"I was going to train with Kaa-chan. But I think I'll need to train with Gai-sensei too, I have a feeling speed will be important against Deidara."  
"Yeah, I think your right, there's something weird about him. Probably best to expect the unexpected."  
"What about you, Naruto?" Itachi asked. "I'm not really sure, my first two rounds seem somewhat easier than yours. I guess I'll ask Tsunade-sensei, maybe she'll teach me those chakra enhanced punches of hers," he joked.

"Maybe," Tri laughed. "Anyway I'm gonna see if Hiruzen-sama is free, I have an idea I want to run by him. See ya both around," he finished, throwing a hand over his shoulder.

* * *

- **Sarutobi Compound** -

"Tri-kun, this is unexpected," said a surprised Hiruzen. He'd been reading through various reports for most of the morning but the sudden appearance of one of his quasi-students these past few years gave him an excuse to ignore them for a while. "Hiruzen-sama-sensei," Tri respectfully greeted the Sandaime Hokage before sitting down in front of the aged man.

"How did the exams go? I heard you were the only Konoha team to make it to the second test."  
"They went well, thank you. We're through to the one vs one finals, it's this that brings me here today. My first round opponent I have no issue with, they seem to be the average run of the mill Kumo Genin. It's who my second round opponent will likely be. They feel different from all the others."  
"Different how?"  
"As you know, I have a knack for sensing when someone's chakra is different, Itachi agrees there's something different about her. Despite that, her chakra feels kind of familiar, not the same but I do get a sense of familiarity from her."  
"How is it familiar, familiar to someone you've met?"  
"Yes, it feels like Rezano."

* * *

 **-A few days later, Uchiha Compound-**

"Ok Itachi-chan, your skills are fine so let's focus on your opponents. First is this Sajin, tell me what you know from just observing him."  
"Hai, Kaa-chan. Sajin is the only Genin from Suna competing in the finals, he had to win a playoff match to qualify so I got to see him fight. He seems to be a Taijutsu orientated fighter. Except for a regular Bunshin, however, I saw no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu techniques. To be honest despite watching him fight, I learnt very little."

"Yeah that's not a lot to go on. But we can discern some details simply from his being from Sunagakure. We can assume at the least an understanding of Fūton or wind based techniques and you have experience combating Fūton Ninjutsu thanks to your teammates. Your Katon is also highly effective against Fūton so there is a good chance you'll have the Ninjutsu advantage. So what are you thinking Itachi, how are you going to end this fight?"

"Quickly Kaa-chan, there are too many unknowns and assumptions to allow the fight to drag out." Mikoto inclined her head at her son's decision. "Now what about your second round opponent? First, let's assume it's this Deidara."

* * *

- **With Naruto and Tsunade, Training Ground 27** -

"Okay Naruto, that's the first two rounds done, now what about the semi-finals? Who do you think will be your opponent out of this Atsui, Senba, Kurotsuchi and Kegon." Tsunade asked. "Kurotsuchi, that'll be my third challenge and she'll be by far the toughest of the three."  
"Why?"  
"She seems to be in a different class to most of the other Genin competing. I consider her as much a threat as Itachi and Tri, maybe her teammate Deidara too, but he would have to beat both Itachi and Tri before he could face me." He neglected to mention the pink eyes he found so entrancing as Tsunade continued her questioning. "Okay, what do you know about her?"

Naruto closed his eyes and thought a moment, compiling all he did know, which admittedly wasn't very much. Opening his eyes again he began talking. "She's the granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage so it would best to assume she is strong."  
"A correct assumption, the fact that she was allowed to compete in a Chūnin Exam held anywhere that isn't Iwagakure is a statement in and of itself. The Tsuchikage is declaring that his granddaughter is powerful, a force that foreign nations will need to take heed of in the years to come. So what do you know about her skills, her abilities?"

"Frustratingly little, despite seeing her fight a little during the second test I didn't learn much. I know she uses Doton but we could have guessed that anyway, her being from Iwa and all. She's quick and agile and I reckon she's intelligent, whether she's as smart as my teammates I don't know but I'd put her down as smarter than me."  
"Interesting, unfortunately, it's difficult to get intel out of Iwagakure so I can't add anything, I don't think even Jiraiya could help all that much right now. I have a feeling this fight could last, you have the chakra and physical stamina to go for a while but you're going to need an ace card, something that'll end a fight."

A wide grin appeared on Naruto's face, "Tsunade-Sensei, I know just the thing."

* * *

- **Sarutobi Compound-**

"Ok, onto the semi-finals. Itachi?"  
"Itachi."  
"Why Itachi?"  
"He's the most intelligent person in this finals. He excels at everything, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Genjutsu. I'm faster, but his Sharingan take the edge off of it and mitigates my advantage and he'll never let me get near him long enough to use seals. There is, however, one area I'm superior in."  
"Which is?"

* * *

- **Uchiha Compound-**

"Tri, I believe presents me the greatest challenge, he's quick, so quick that he can outrun me easily and his stamina far surpasses me so I need to shut down his movement, he's schooled in Genjutsu and he'll never look me in the eyes so that's out. Taijutsu is of no use if his speed is uninhibited. It needs to be Ninjutsu, he's never been able to best my **Gōkakyū no Jutsu**."  
"Really? How?" Mikoto asked in surprise. "Hai, no matter what he tries he's never been able to overpower it. He knows Jutsu from three different natures, Katon, Fūton and Suiton. But Suiton is his weakest, he can't use Fūton for obvious reasons and his Katon isn't as strong as mine but I can't drag the bout into a Ninjutsu slug-fest, he has way more chakra than me."

* * *

- **Sarutobi Compound-**

"So you have far more chakra to draw on but you've never been able to beat Itachi's **Gōkakyū no Jutsu?** "  
"Hai, but I have a potential solution, I have something that I think will allow me to overwhelm it. He needs to force me to stand still but in turn, he makes himself stationary." Sarutobi yet again was astounded by the boy in front of him, he was ten years old but could analyse himself and his opponents strengths and weaknesses.

"Okay Tri, you make it sound like you need to use your ability to dictate the fight, so what's the plan this time."  
"I need to show you outside, it's too dangerous to try it in here, especially since it isn't complete." They both stood and headed for the door that would take them out to the training grounds.

* * *

- **Uchiha Compound-**

"Okay, so is that the plan? Force him stationary then totally overpower him with the **Gōkakyū no Jutsu**?" Itachi asked. Mikoto stood, "Not quite Itachi, come with me, I'm going to teach you a Jutsu stronger than the Gōkakyū."

* * *

 **-A fortnight later-**

Tri dispelled the last of his clones, a rare wide grin stretching from ear to ear as he breathed heavily. It had taken most of the last two weeks and nearly fifty clones at a time practising alongside the original but he'd finally completed his counter to Itachi's Katon. Hiruzen looking on, "You'll need to keep practising, you still lack control over this Jutsu, you want to counter and overpower Itachi's Katon, not kill him."  
"I know but given what this Jutsu is, I don't know how much more control I can learn to exert over it with what time we've got left. It's taken me this long to manipulate it properly."

Tri's plan to combat Fū was actually fairly simple planning wise and hadn't taken too long to learn, it hadn't taken more than a day, despite that he'd left a few clones practising it. His plan to beat Itachi had proved far more complex and now that he'd completed the Jutsu, he barely had any time left to refine it. They were returning to Kumogakure tomorrow, this time the convoy they were travelling with was far larger so it would take nearly a week to arrive.

There was a meeting in the Hokage's office later to decide who was going, _'That'll be fun'_ Tri thought to himself. "Tri, we've not long left. Again," Hiruzen ordered, several dozen clones appeared and they started work once again.

* * *

 **-A few hours later, Hokage's Office-**

"As most of you already know I've called you here so we know who's going to Kumo for the Chūnin Exam finals," Minato stated bringing their meeting of sorts to order. "Now I can be pretty sure that our finalists will be in attendance with their Sensei," he half-joked, he got a few laughs for his efforts. Tri, Itachi and Naruto were against one of the walls with Genma next to them.

In the room with them against the opposite wall was Tsunade, Shizune, Gai, Kakashi, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Kushina, Mikoto, Rezano, Sasuke and finally Minusha in Kushina's arms behind the desk.

"As Hokage, I'll be attending. Kakashi and Jiraiya will be my guards. Tsunade, Gai, Hiruzen, Mikoto and Shizune have already told me they'll be going. But I and Jiraiya both think it'd be best if you remain in Konoha with Rezano, Kushina-chan." Now if this conversation had taken place a few months perhaps a few weeks earlier, Kushina would have agreed without question, but.

"No." Jiraiya and Minato spun to face the voice. "What do you mean Kushina-chan?" Minato asked his wife. "I'm not staying here," she stated defiantly. "Kushina," Jiraiya said taking a step towards her, "It's too dangerous, we can't take any chance of an assassination attempt on Rezano, he's much more important, I'm sure they'll understand."

"Important?" she growled, her legendary temper surfacing as she handed Minusha to Mikoto before confronting the white haired Sannin, "Important? What's important is that in listening to your asinine advice, MY TWO ELDEST SONS ARE COMPLETE STRANGERS TO ME," her voice rattling the windows. "Because I was stupid enough to listen to you and take your 'advice' to heart! I wasn't there when they joined the Academy when it meant so much to Naruto-chan, I wasn't there when they received their Hitai-ate's despite saying I would be! I wasn't there to help them come to terms when they were blooded, all because I listened to you, because of you I utterly ignored them over my two youngest. So don't you tell me what's important!"

As she spok... shouted she had walked to stand in between Naruto and Tri, a hand around each of their shoulders. "And I'll be damned if I miss them fight in these finals. And Kami be damned if I'm missing them show me just what they are capable of, what I've missed." Jiraiya scoffed despite her anger, "They're only rookie Genin, what can they possibly do that's going to be so impressive," he said dismissively. This time Tsunade stepped in front of him, "Maybe you should read the reports Jiraiya, their mission reports from Genma are flawless and are positively glowing in their praise of their professionalism, maturity and ability."

"And if it's impressive you want, then imagine my shock when I found out that my own son…" Kushina said tightening her grip around Tri, ".. already possesses a level 7 knowledge in Fūinjutsu." Jiraiya scowled at her declaration while Minato's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Kushina tightened her grip on them both, "And because of my stupidity, it's only now that I understand and can truly appreciate how special my boys are. I'm going and that's final." Minato knew better than to argue the issue with her, especially when she was this wound up. "Ok, Kushina," he conceded.

"I guess we're all going then," Tsunade noted as she quickly left the room, if she stayed she might end up putting Jiraiya through a wall, it wouldn't have been the first time, that was if Kushina didn't beat her to it. Minato sighed, "Guess we're done here. Genma-san, could you stay a moment," he asked his longtime bodyguard as everyone else made for the door while Jiraiya and Kakashi went out the window. After they had Minato asked him a question, "How good are they?"

"They are Genin in name only, the title of 'Prodigal Three' is rather appropriate when discussing the three of them," was his reply. He bowed slightly before leaving himself.

Kushina sat on a park bench, Minusha in her arms. Tri and Naruto were either side of her while Rezano sat in Naruto's lap. Naruto hadn't been this happy to be with his Kaa-chan in a long time. For the first time in years, he felt important to her. He leaned his head against her shoulder with a cheerful smile on his face. "When we come back, us three and your Tou-san are going to have a long overdue talk, ok?" she reassured them both. "Ok, Kaa-chan," were their jovial replies.

"Kaa-chan, does this mean we get to watch Tri-nii san and Naruto-nii san fight?" Rezano asked from between Naruto's arms. "Yes Reza-chan, we'll be going to watch them both," Rezano let out an excited giggle as he snuggled deeper into Naruto's shoulder.

* * *

 **-The following day-**

The convoy was assembled at the main gate, ready to depart. One Genin team, two Sannin, two Kage, a group of Jōnin, hopeful parents and excited siblings. And that didn't include the merchants and traders that comprised the large majority of the convoy bound for Kumogakure.

"Hokage-sama, We're ready to depart," a reporting Jōnin informed him. Minato turned to look over the line of horse-drawn wagons, "Okay then, lets delay no longer."  
"Hai, Hokage-sama," they said disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

End Chapter

 **I know this is a short chapter, the next two are much longer than the average. But I wanted something to bridge the gap between the second and thirds Exams.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The third Exam - Round of Sixteen

* * *

"Will all competitors please make their way to the fighting stage please," the call went out from a young man, Naruto couldn't place his age higher than sixteen. His name was C and he was the proctor of the third stage of the Chūnin Exams. He had short blonde hair and dark eyes. His outfit was very similar to that of their second test proctor Darui with only a few trims of additional colour separating them.

The arena was similar to Konoha's, only it was larger. The stands were crammed with spectators, a group of VIP boxes houses the present Kage's and Daimyos. The aligned spectators, predominantly the ones wearing headbands had their own places to watch from. It was decided it would be best to keep Shinobi from different villages apart so civilians were placed between them to keep them separate.

Minato took his seat with Jiraiya and Kakashi flanking him over his shoulders. He was one of four Kage present, the Yondaime Kazekage, Rasa; Yondaime Raikage, A and the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Ōnoki were also in attendance.

A had Darui and Yugito with him, Rasa had two Suna ANBU and Ōnoki settled for just his son Kitsuchi.

The Konoha section of the stands in addition to the Konoha shinobi who'd made the journey had the collective families of their three competitors, Kushina, Rezano and Minusha while both Itachi's parents and his younger brother were in attendance. They were joined by Tsunade, Shizune, Hiruzen, Gai and finally their sensei Genma, wearing a grin with his trademark senbon held between his teeth.

The sixteen Genin lined up in front of C. The final 16 from the 363 that started in classroom 18. A gave a signal down to C who quickly bowed before turning to face both the crowd and the fighters. "Competitors, travellers, Shinobi, Kage and honoured Daimyos. Welcome to Kumogakure and welcome to the third round of this year's Chūnin Exams. Before me stand the final sixteen Genin who will now compete in one on one bouts until a sole victor stands above the rest."

Turning his gaze on the Genin, "Do any of you wish to take this last opportunity to withdraw?" His question was followed by absolutely nothing, no words, no movement. "Very well, rules are anything goes. The match will continue until your opponent is unconscious, dead or I say so. Ok, let us begin the first bout. All but Uchiha Itachi and Sajin return to the contestant's enclosure." Most of the remaining fourteen simply walked there but a few shunshined.

Hiruzen chuckled, "The mind games have started," he said to those around him. "Yet Tri and Naruto don't play," Shizune noted. Tsunade grinned, "Not quite, they're playing their own mind games. Underestimating an opponent invites defeat and that's exactly what they are doing."  
"Despite breaking records in the first and second tests Tsunade-sama? Why would anyone still underestimate them?"  
"Because Genin are almost always head-strong Shizune-san," Hiruzen answered.

First match

"Uchiha Itachi, ready?" C asked, he got a nod in reply. "Sajin, ready?" Again another nod. "Competitors ready, Hajime!" C shouted.

Remembering his plan of action Itachi shot forward as the crowd roared as the combat got underway. The distance between the two quickly shrank to nothing, Itachi starting things off with a high kick which Sajin blocked. He couldn't block the second kick in time, however, as the bottom of Itachi's foot was driven into Sajin's chest forcing him to stumble back.

Itachi used the momentum he gained from the kick to backflip, bringing a hand to his pouch he fished out a pair of shuriken and let fly. Again Sajin was able to deal with the first as he leant to his left to dodge but again the second caught him, leaving him with a cut on his right forearm. Itachi landed on his feet, his backflip complete, he whipped his head up and quickly rolled to his right. A kunai flew by a fraction of a second later. Itachi stood in time to block a left hook with a hand of his own then his knee blocked one of Sajin's. To open the space up between them Itachi lunged his head forward, his forehead striking Sajin's nose. Again the Suna Genin stumbled back, it wasn't enough to break his nose but it was enough to make his eyes water for just a moment.

That moment was long enough as a foot slammed into the side of his head sending him to the ground several feet away. Taking advantage of the time he had Itachi wove hand signs, " **Katon: Endan,"** (Fire Release: Flame Bullet). A small ball of fire shot out of Itachi's mouth, again Sajin had to desperately scramble to dodge. The fireball struck the ground near him and exploded launching him into the air.

It looked as if Sajin was about to land head-first. But another kick to the side of the head from Itachi meant he hit the ground back first. The kick had also rendered Sajin unconscious before he'd even made contact with the ground. Itachi jumped away as C shunshined next to the downed Suna Genin, _'Yep he's out cold'_. Standing he held an arm in Itachi's direction. "Winner by knock out, Uchiha Itachi, Konoha," he loudly declared as the Konoha supporters cheered.

The Suna supporters in Kumo and back in Suna watching on screens in their own Chūnin arena groaned. Rasa sighed, "It was always going to be a tough ask to defeat an Uchiha. Especially one seemingly as talented as this." His comments brought a general nodding of agreement from those within earshot.

Itachi gave a small wave to his family as he made his way to the contestant enclosure, walking across the arena floor before shunshining up to the enclosure itself. "Well done, Itachi," Naruto complimented while Tri gave him a thumbs up as Itachi sat down next to them.

The fifteen of them that now remained were spread across the enclosure. The Kumo Genin were all in a group at the back, the Iwa trio were sat about halfway up on the left. Naruto was at the very bottom right in the chair closest to the wall that he had chosen to lean up against instead of the chair. Tri wasn't even in a chair, he was sat on the ground right by the edge letting his legs dangle over the edge while he leaned on the railing. The Taki trio were a few rows behind Naruto.

"Will Deidara and Yōrō make their way to the arena floor please," C shouted. "Good luck Yōrō," Fū enthusiastically said to her teammate who gave her a smile in return. Deidara descending the stairs making sure he was just loud enough for everyone to hear him, "Time to introduce you all to my art, Un." The leaf trio looked at one another and they just shrugged. The next two competitors moved to their starting positions just as the medics finished removing Sajin.

The next two combatants stood facing one another. Deidara had long bright blonde hair with a bang covering half of his face. He wore a blue and grey kimono jacket with what looked like a fishnet shirt underneath with grey-brown khaki pants and matching sandals. Around his waist was a belt with a sizeable pouch around his hip.

Across from him, Yōrō had short spiky black hair and black eyes. He wore a dark violet vest with a light violet turtleneck underneath and dark green pants. On the front of the vest, he had two scrolls attached.

"So, what do you suppose is in the pouch?" Naruto asked, "the pouch is larger than most carry so it's probably not kunai, shuriken and the like," Tri muttered, his tone of voice made him sound utterly disinterested.

Second Match

"Deidara, ready?"  
"Un," was all he got in reply. Shaking his head, "Yōrō, ready?"  
"Hai."  
"Competitors ready, Hajime."

Within a split second Yōrō had multiple shuriken in his hand which he threw at Deidara. The three shuriken suddenly multiplied into nine forcing Deidara to dodge left rather than duck. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin, no hand seals either," Hiruzen said to himself. While he was dodging, Deidara had a hand in his pouch. From within he withdrew a small clump of clay that his hand began to eat….

"That's… different," Itachi mentioned as he noticed the tongue sticking out of Deidara's palm. Where a clump of clay had gone in, a small clay bird came out.

"Iwagakure's Kinjutsu, Sensei?" Tsunade asked Hiruzen, "Yes, I think you may be right," he mused, in all his years he had never seen anything like it. "What's the Iwagakure Kinjutsu, I've never heard of such a thing?" Shizune asked out loud. "It's a Kinjutsu technique passed down in Iwa for generations, it allows users to knead their chakra into materials, as to the produced effects I have no idea." Just as Hiruzen finished speaking Deidara let loose the first clay bird. It seemed to be able to fly of its own accord, it massively expanded mid-flight.

Yōrō didn't know what to make of it. He jumped out of the way as the bird hit the ground where he'd just been standing. It exploded. Everyone not wearing an Iwa Hitai-ate was not expecting an explosion with several civilians jumping in their seats. Yōrō found himself launched across the arena crashing hard nearly twenty feet away. Because of the seeming lack of threat, the Taki Genin hadn't jumped far from the bird and thus was caught in the blast.

"Do you understand yet? Un" Deidara asked from across the arena, "Understand what?" Yōrō groggily asked, his ears were ringing to the point he could barely hear Deidara talking, he could smell singed hair and his clothes smouldered.

"Understand that art is an explosion!" the blonde cheered as he launched another bird at Yōrō. This time he threw shuriken at the clay figure causing to detonate early. Any thoughts of a few seconds respite were immediately quashed as two more birds shot through the smoke cloud. Yōrō started jumping back trying to keep his distance and pick off the birds. _'I need to force him on the defensive, I need to get him moving.'_ He thought as a well-thrown pair of kunai cleaved the wing of one bird, it exploded as it hit the ground.

Seeing an opportunity he let loose another flurry of shuriken, **"Shuriken Kage Bunshin."** Deidara couldn't see the shuriken coming until late, they were obscured by the dust and smoke. Deidara went wide-eyed as the swarm of moving metal appeared in front of him, he was forced to roll right to dodge them as they lodged in the wall just behind him.

Meanwhile, Yōrō hadn't been able to get properly clear of the other bird as it detonated. This time he was thrown into the arena side wall.

"Yōrō!" Fū worryingly exclaimed jumping up out of her seat.

All the smoke cleared and Deidara found his quarry struggling to stand, the blood was pouring out of his hand thanks to a missing finger. Yōrō's entire body screamed in pain, his hand especially, his vision was swimming but he just managed to focus it long enough to see Deidara preparing another bird, knowing that he could no longer dodge the next one and that it would probably kill him.

"Proctor, I give up," he managed to say before collapsing, his voice hadn't been very loud. Luckily for him, it had been loud enough.

"Winner by concession, Deidara, Iwagakure," C stated to the audience. With the match over the medic-nin rushed onto the field to tend to Yōrō, although one of them searched instead for his missing finger.

"That was interesting, I never expected him to mould some kind of explosive chakra into the clay," Jiraiya mused. All but one of the Kage were weirded out by Deidara having mouths in his hands while Ōnoki was sporting a giant grin. "You have high hopes for him I imagine, Ōnoki?" Rasa asked him. "Of course, anyone who's my student I rate very high indeed." Rasa was taken aback by his comment, "Is that right, I've never known you to teach anyone outside of your family Ōnoki," the Kazekage rhetorically stated.

Deidara had just re-entered the enclosure, he ascended the steps as the green haired Taki girl was giving him evils. He came to a halt as he heard a voice. "Deidara."  
"Un?" he grunted, turning towards the voice to find the black and red haired Konoha Genin stood at the bottom of the stairs staring back at him. "Interesting way of expressing art," Tri said to him. "Well what is this," he smirked, "Have I found someone who appreciates my art?"  
"I wouldn't say an appreciation, more an acceptance. Art is whatever you want it to be. It isn't this _or_ that, art is this _and_ that. It is all a matter of perspective."

Deidara found himself slightly surprised by his words, the boy looked a little younger than him, yet he was able to articulate his opinion so easily. Deidara actually nodded ever so slightly out of respect, he didn't know he was actually capable of that. "Perhaps I'll be able to properly introduce you to my art later on," he said through his ever-present smirk. Tri just shrugged, "Maybe, but you gotta get past him first," he said pointing at Itachi. As he did, he heard the proctor speak out, "Next match. Uzumaki Tri vs Kanui." With that Tri disappeared with a traceless Shunshin.

There was a reason the Raikage had chosen C to proctor the finals, C was what is known as a sensor and he had superb analytical skills. In this tournament he was as much a spy as a Proctor. Firstly he could provide detailed feedback on the performance of the Kumo Genin competing and secondly he could gather intelligence on the promising Genin from other villages.

Tri reappeared in the arena without a sound. Naruto and Itachi were known quantities, one the son of the Yondaime, the other an Uchiha, Tri on the other hand. "Where did you find this one, Minato-san? He embarrassed the shinobi I had design the seal arrays behind the first test," A asked Minato. "We sort of stumbled across him several years ago, since then he's become part of the family," Minato replied, half answering the question, half skirting round it.

Tsunade squinted slightly looking at Tri, "Sensei, is that.."  
"Yes it is, the mind games continue," Hiruzen laughed. Shizune looked at them both in confusion, ' _What are they talking about?_ '

Many of the Shinobi present viewed Tri with intrigue, the senior nin might have known of his existence but even they knew almost nothing about him. The sense of fascination wasn't confined to just those present, it was present in stadiums across the elemental nations that watched on giant screens. In Sunagakure, a figure was leant up against a support column, "All right Gaki, let's see what you've got," they said under their breath.

Naruto and Itachi watched as Kanui stalked his way down to the railing, before he vaulted over it he turned his gaze towards the two of them. "I hope you're ready to see your teammate get put in the hospital," he snarled. However, he didn't get the reaction he wanted, the Uchiha utterly ignored him while the Yondaime's son snorted. His scowl returned as he jumped down to the arena floor below.

Kanui's face was distorted with anger, his eyes trying to bore a hole in Tri's skull, his teeth grinding against one another. Kanui attempted to bring his emotions under control, his sensei had been rather blunt when it came to educating him on the mixing of emotions and combat. He was able to bring his facial expression down to a hateful glare.

Third Match

"Kanui, ready?" C got the smallest of nods in reply. _'Well he looks determined'_ he noted in his fellow Kumo nin's demeanour. _'He's going to be in for an unpleasant surprise though'_. C, just like Tsunade and Hiruzen had noticed Tri's trick.

"Uzumaki Tri, ready?" Kanui spat at the mention of his name which got… nothing, Tri didn't react in the slightest as he replied, "Hai." Nodding at their readiness he raised a hand, "Competitors ready, Hajime!"

Kanui shot forward the moment C's hand began to drop, drawing his katana from the scabbard around his waist. With the blade levelled at Tri's chest he lunged forward aiming to drive the weapon between his ribs, all the while Tri did nothing, standing stock still.

Only when the blade was a foot away did he move, a side step to his left. The katana only pierced his cloak missing his body entirely, much to the collective relief of the assembled Konoha support in the crowd. Tri undid the cloak's fastening around his neck and with a burst of speed he wrapped it around Kanui's head and torso. His opponent blinded, Tri kicked him in the back of the ankle, sending him to the floor in a heap.

Kushina let out the breath she'd been holding as she watched Kanui fight his way out of the cloak, his anger returning. Within a couple seconds, he had cut his way out of the cloak and looked around for his Konoha opposition. He found him leant against the arena sidewall with his arms folded. _'Arrogant little…'_ Kanui mentally screamed as he formed hand-seals. "Let's see how you deal with this, **Raiton: Sanda** ," (Lightning Release: Thunder). From Kanui's hands came a wave of sparks swarming towards Tri.

Tri observed the wave of electrical sparks heading his way, they cut off many of his avenues of movement and Kanui knew it too, he was already moving to block him in. Pushing himself off the wall, going through a few seals of his own before slamming his palms together out in front of him, " **Fūton: Reppūshō** ," (Wind Release: Gale Palm) the gust of wind from his hands scattered the sparks to his right and centre while Kanui closed in on his left.

Minato's eyes widened slightly at his son's use of a Fūton Ninjutsu, the Yondaime Hokage had also noted Tri's ease of movement, he could also discern that Tri was quick and that he wasn't trying very hard.

Seeing his sparks dispelled didn't deter Kanui as he raised his sword and quickly brought it down, aiming for his blade to bite into Tri's shoulder and neck. It bit into neither, instead, his blade found a wooden log as Tri Kawarimied away, Kanui didn't have time to allow his frustration to boil over as a tag on the log lit up. He went wide-eyed as he recognised the tag, he didn't have time to pull his Katana from the log so he had to abandon it and rush to get clear.

The resulting explosion threw Kanui to the ground. But he'd suffered no injuries he was able to pick himself up and his eyes quickly locked back on Tri but not before he spotted the hilt of his katana some thirty feet away, the blade missing. "You destroyed my sword," Kanui hatefully declared. Tri just shrugged, "It happens." ' _He's quick enough to Kawarimi and rig the log with an explosive tag'_ Minato mentally noted, becoming more and more impressed with every action his son made.

A stand-off ensued, neither budging an inch. Their brief stand-off ended as Tri blinked. In a flash, Kanui fished out several kunai at threw them one after the other. Tri plucked the first straight out of the air, looping his finger through the ring on the end of the handle. With a kunai now in hand, he used it to block all the others before he threw it back. The moment it left his hand he repeated his earlier hand seals, " **Fūton: Reppūshō** ," the gust of air sped the kunai up as it flashed by Kanui.

The Kumo nin hadn't moved, he hadn't had time. He felt a stinging sensation on his left cheek, bringing his hand up he rubbed it against his cheek. Drawing his hand back he found some blood smeared across the back of his hand. Kanui looked back at Tri, his eyes narrowing, he'd never vocally admit it but _'He could have killed me right there'_. His anger and bravado, however, quickly returned, "I'll make you pay for that Leaf scum!" This time his actions actually got a reaction as Tri rolled his eyes before speaking, "Well, get on with it then."

That proved the final straw for Kanui as he saw red and blindly rushed forward. "Game over," Naruto mutely said as Kanui pulled back his left fist attempting to punch Tri in the face. He simply side-stepped the punch to his right and ducked under the follow-up elbow. With Kanui wide open Tri punched him in the ribs, Kanui was forced into a misstep as the pain from his ribs reached his brain, Tri followed up with a punch to his now undefended jaw.

The punch would have floored Kanui if Tri hadn't grabbed his arm, pulled him back facing him and delivered a knee to the stomach knocking the air out of him. Kanui was now bent over, but not for long as Tri kneed him in the face which snapped him back up straight. The Kumo Genin was wobbling on his feet, his vision as unsteady as the rest of his body. Tri finished with a palm strike to the nose, the hit jerked Kanui's head back violently as his nose broke.

Seeing he was about to collapse Tri jumped back ten feet to allow the proctor to call the match as Kanui fell backwards, landing on the ground with a thud.

A few seconds passed, the only noises coming from the crowd. In the Kage box the Raikage lowly growled in annoyance, he'd been hoping his villages Genin would best the Hokage's two sons but the first was about to go through, _'Too much to hope for I guess'_ , he could also tell this Tri had barely gotten going as well. Minato remained silent, impressed by his son's brief but violent display.

"Do you wish to call this proctor-san?" Tri asked C who watched Kanui's still form for a few seconds, he was about to call the match when Kanui moved. "I was about to, but seems this one still has some fight in them," C replied as they both watched Kanui groggily get back to his feet, the blood from the cut on his cheek was joined by blood running freely from his nose. Most could tell that Kanui was struggling to stand and that he wouldn't be able to continue fighting in any meaningful manner.

Not wanting it to drag on any longer Tri began channelling chakra into his lungs as he wove hand seals, " **Fūton: Daitoppa** ," (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). Tri's chest rapidly expanded before he released a powerful blast of wind that easily picked Kanui up and slammed him hard into the wall opposite. The wind held him up, pinned against the wall. As it died down he simply collapsed and this time he didn't get back up.

"How about now?" Tri again asked the Proctor who nodded his head in agreement, "Winner by Knock out, Uzumaki Tri, Konoha," he proclaimed to the audience. Again the Konoha section cheered and this time the Kumo section groaned.

Kushina was having mixed emotions, on one hand, she was happy to see that her son was indeed strong, like many others she'd noticed that Tri was holding back, a lot. But she was also saddened to have missed out on watching him progress for so long, she just knew this feeling would only worsen when Naruto's match took place.

"Not bad kid," C complimented as Kanui received medical attention. "Thank you, Proctor-san."  
"Tell me though, you can't be feeling as easy as you made that look, right?" Despite looking absolutely fine, C was certain he'd expended a substantial amount of chakra using his Fūton Ninjutsu. "Well, Proctor-san. Let me put it to you like this," he replied pointing up towards the competitor's enclosure. C followed his arm and quickly noticed a cloak-clad boy with black and red hair hanging his legs over the edge.

"What? How long have you been there?" asked a bewildered C. "Wait, you're a shadow clone?" he asked of the Tri stood next to him. "Yes," the clone replied before dispelling.

Minato went wide-eyed along with many members of the audience as he witnessed what he thought was his son disappear in a puff of smoke. "A shadow clone? The entire time my Genin was fighting a clone?" A asked with a sigh before leaning his head on his fist. Kushina's jaw almost hit Minusha sat in her lap on the head as she watched the clone dispel. She heard Tsunade and Hiruzen laugh, "So that's what you were talking about," Shizune muttered as Rezano tugged on Kushina's sleeve.

"Kaa-chan, where did Nii-chan go?" her youngest son asked. She smiled at him, quickly regaining her composure as she pointed to Tri in the enclosure. "He's there Reza-chan, he actually never moved. He used a Kage Bunshin to fight instead," she explained. Rezano didn't really understand what a shadow clone was but he'd seen his Tou-san use them before, nonetheless his eyes widened in delight, "That's so cool!" he exclaimed making Kushina and a few others around them laugh.

In the enclosure, Kurotsuchi was quietly analysing what she'd just learnt from the previous match. Mean Minato was asking himself questions. ' _He fought using nothing but a shadow clone and Fūton Ninjutsu, how much chakra does he have?'_ _'Is this what Genma was referring to?_ '  
"Impressive," Kakashi added not looking up from his book, Jiraiya only grunted.

With Tri gone and Kanui being stretchered off C called out the next two competitors. "Fū and Omōi to the arena floor."  
"Keep a heads up in your match Naruto, I have a feeling your opponent will want blood for what I've just done." Naruto shrugged, "His problem, not mine," he replied as Fū and Omōi made their way to the arena.

Fourth Match

Soon both were facing one another across the arena and what followed was totally one-sided. Omōi tried everything: Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, Ninjutsu. All were utterly ineffective against Fū.

Naruto was shocked by what he'd just witnessed, "Well that was near effortless."  
"Yep, not to mention that green chakra surrounding her was impenetrable. She doesn't have a scratch on her."  
"She's got Tsunade-Sensei levels of strength as well if the craters are anything to go by. Then there's that green chakra as you mentioned, it radiates out from her." As Naruto and Itachi continued their discussion, Tri just looked on. He gave off the attitude that he wasn't paying attention, the reality, however, was very different as his mind played back what it had just witnessed.

\- **Moments earlier** -

Omōi was breathing a little heavily, his Kenjutsu assault had been utterly ineffective. _'Guess I'll have to try Ninjutsu, my Kenjutsu was useless but.. my Taijutsu was useless too so what if my Ninjutsu doesn't work?'_ He took a deep breath to calm himself. _'No, now's not the time to overthink things'_. With his emotions balanced once more he wove his hand seals, " **Raiton: Sandāboruto** ," (Lightning Release: Thunderbolt).

Omōi rushed forward, his hands to his side. In each palm, a ball of blue-white light appeared and began to grow. As he approached Fū did nothing, she only raised her hands in an X in front of her. The orbs of light began giving off arcs of static electricity as he drew closer. He skidded to a halt several feet away from his green haired opponent, as he did he thrust his arms out in front of him. The electrical discharges arced towards Fū, striking her and the ground around her. The dust cloud it kicked up shrouded her from all those watching.

Thinking he was successful in besting her Omōi grinned and it lasted about a second before a fist connected with his chest, launching him into the far wall. Omōi, however, wouldn't know that he'd hit the wall, the pain from Fū's punch rendered him unconscious in an instant. The speed Fū had moved at completely dispelled the dust hiding her from the audience. Many gasped as they saw the green shroud of chakra surrounding the girl.

Many of the gasps and whispers went from surprise to animosity especially those of veteran shinobi from across the hidden villages. "Demon/ Monster," many said under their breath, not quietly enough, however, as Fū could pick them up with her enhanced hearing. Her anger manifesting as she heard more and more comments, "SHUT UP!" she shouted, stamping her foot, cracking the ground underneath her as a wave of killing intent rolled off her startling many of the present shinobi and leaving some of the civilians cowering in fear.

"Winner by knock-out, Fū, Takigakure," C announced in the hope of avoiding an incident. He breathed a sigh of relief as the green chakra surrounding Fū dissipated and she seemed to calm down. She kept her eyes facing the ground in front of her as she began returning to the enclosure. She didn't look up at the audience that had been so quick to judge and verbally abuse her. She only looked up again as she arrived back in the enclosure to find the black and red haired boy she knew would be her next opponent looking at her.

Her eyes met his and she was surprised that he didn't shy away in fear nor did he look at her with disgust or hatred. Fū didn't even notice she'd come to a halt, eventually, Tri inclined his head ever so slightly to her before turning to face the arena floor again as C's voice called out again.

Fifth Match

"Match 5: Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto vs Shurki. Competitors to the arena floor."

"Don't take too long Naruto, it was tedious enough watching Tri toy with the other Kumo Genin," Itachi asked in a bored voice. Naruto laughed, "Not like you to show impatience Itachi." Truth be told, Itachi was slightly frustrated that he'd learnt nothing from Tri's first-round bout. He'd used shadow clones and Fūton Ninjutsu that Itachi had already known Tri had in his arsenal.

With one last chuckle at Itachi Naruto shunshined to the arena floor, Shurki following close behind, the hatred blazing in his eyes. ' _Wonderful'_ Naruto thought. "Hope you enjoy pain, Dog."  
"Didn't your teammate say something similar?" Naruto rebutted earning him a snarl. "You call me a dog, yet you're the one who seems on the brink of frothing at the mouth," Naruto verbally prodded, ' _Another little push and he'll lose his calm and with it his self-control'_. His jab seemed to have the desired effect as Shurki went red in the face, 'I _s he shaking? One more push is all he needs'_ Naruto laughed in his head.

"Hey Proctor-san, can we begin already? We don't want Shurki here to be late for evening walkies." His comments were met with laughs from amongst the audience. "SILENCE!" Shurki half shouted half screamed, his voice broke halfway through. "For that Namikaze, I'm going to kill you!" A maniacal grin spreading across his face. "Shurki, ready?" "HAI, DAMN IT," Shurki shouted, tightened his grip on his katana's handle. "Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, ready?"  
"Hai," Naruto calmly replied, a tantō in hand. C raised his hand, quickly bringing it down again as he spoke, "Hajime!"

Both immediately charged towards the other. ' _His Katana is longer than my tantō so I can't let him dictate combat range since his blades reach is longer than mine but it means I'll be faster.'_ The two blades clashed with a metallic ring, Naruto attempted to kick out at Shurki's standing leg forcing him to jump back. The Kumo Genin didn't wait around as he rushed back in with a horizontal swing aimed at decapitating Naruto. The blonde ducked underneath the blow _'He's overextended_ ' he thought before replying with a horizontal slash of his own leaving a shallow cut across Shurki's stomach.

"One," Naruto said loudly enough for his opponent to hear as he rolled away. He was up again in time to deflect an overhead strike to his side with the tantō held in his right hand. With Shurki open again Naruto moved his blade to his left hand and reversed his hold before leaving a second long cut on Shurki. "Two." Shurki spun on the spot, trying desperately to bring his blade to bear on Naruto who kept close and kept moving with Shurki so he wasn't facing him. Seeing another opening he slashed again, a third, vertical cut appearing along Shurki's right calf muscle. "Three."

Shurki fell to one knee as the pain in his right leg meant he couldn't stand on it, his reward was a hard punch in the face from Naruto, the blonde quickly jumping back, "Four."  
"What are you doing Leaf trash?" Shurki growled. "I'm counting."  
"I know that you moron! Counting what?" Naruto smirked, "Openings, I'm counting openings. Four times I could have killed you during that engagement."

Shurki gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet by leaning on his sword as if it were a walking stick. "You'll regret that. I only need one opening and I will kill you with it Leaf trash." Naruto assumed a defensive stance as Shurki came towards him again, ' _Good call on going after the leg, he's far slower now'_.

Naruto let him draw closer, ' _A little closer… now_ '. In a flash, Naruto reached behind him and drew his second tantō and threw it.

Nobody, nobody expected him to throw it, especially Shurki who had to turn his attention towards blocking it. He took a wild swing to strike it away but before he could turn his gaze back towards Naruto he screamed in agony as he felt a searing pain in his left knee.

Naruto having taken advantage of his successful distraction had shunshined behind Shurki and slashed across the back of his knee, his target was the hamstring tendons, lateral and medial. He knew he'd found his mark as Shurki's knee gave out immediately leaving him in a heap on the floor.

"Game over," Itachi, Tsunade and Kakashi all said simultaneously. "Proctor-san, do you wish to call this?" Naruto inquired of C. The Kumo Jonin looked on for a few seconds, ' _I can't see how Shurki can continue_ '.

"Proctor, don't you dare call this match. I will not be beaten by this Leaf trash. Especially not you, the son of _that man_ ," Shurki spat in the direction of the Kage box. "I will not be beaten by the trash offspring of the Yondaime and a whore."

"….." Silence.

A along with the two other Kage present winced. Hiruzen and Tsunade went stone-faced along with the Konoha contingent while Shizune lost control of her lower jaw, Rezano and Minusha were too young to understand. Minato was not happy at all, Jiraiya watched on and Kakashi almost dropped his book. Itachi facepalmed, "Of all the things he could have said, this only ends one way now" he muttered. Tri was livid but Naruto managed to remain calm, Kushina herself was decidedly unimpressed. The other competitors watched on in stunned silence.

Tri pulls his legs back up and stood, "Naruto," he shouted down to his brother, Naruto turned just his eyes up to Tri. "You do it, or I will," was all he said, Naruto gave the briefest of nods before turning his eyes back to Shurki. "You can insult my country, you can insult my village, insult my friends, insult my father, insult me and I might have shown restraint. But one thing I will not abide." As Naruto spoke he leaked more and more killing intent.

"Is insulting my Kaa-chan." Naruto disappeared and before Shurki could ever hope to react Naruto drove his tantō through Shurki's back and out through his chest. As quickly as he'd stabbed him he withdrew it and shunshined in front of Shurki. The blade had punctured a lung, the Kumo Genin quickly began choking on his own blood.

The audience watched on uncomfortably, a growing anger in the Kumo contingent. Kushina shielded Rezano's and Minusha's eyes while Mikoto and others did the same with their children. Naruto just watched Shurki's retching and coughing up of his own blood grow weaker, after a short time Naruto slashed horizontally one last time. Shurki's eyes grew even wider and what colour that remained quickly drained from his face as the tantō cut open his throat. Shurki collapsed and thrashed around for a few seconds before finally falling still in a large pool of blood.

"Winner, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, Konohagakure."

' _He showed concern and compassion over my injuries during the second test. But would kill over an insult... admittedly he was left with little choice. Interesting, hardly the softy persona that others seem to label the Leaf with._ ' Kurotsuchi thought, each new development seemed to deepen her intrigue into the blonde as if he were a complex jigsaw puzzle or an unsolved riddle. ' _And his brother too, "If you don't do it, I will"… So I guess he would have killed him as well._ '

Kushina watched on as Shurki's body was withdrawn from the arena, she'd had many conversations with Genma on their way to Kumogakure, he'd described to her his Genin's strengths and achievements, their conversations had also covered her young sons experiences with death.

* * *

- **A few days earlier** -

The convoy was nearing the north-easternmost sectors of Hi no Kuni, it had been an uneventful journey, 'boring' as Rezano had called it. Minato had so far spent the journey in discussion with Jiraiya, Tsunade and Hiruzen. Naruto and Tri were with Itachi and were part of the convoys right flank guard. So Rezano was left with few people to talk to during the day apart from his Kaa-chan, little sister and his Nii-chan's Sensei.

"Genma-san, there was one final thing I wanted to ask you about," Kushina said to the bandana-clad Jōnin. "What would that be Kushina-sama?"  
"How experienced are they with killing? How did they act? How did they deal with it?"

"Far better than I expected Kushina-sama. Naruto was rather sombre for a day or two after taking his first life but he came to terms with it, Itachi was much the same. Tri, however, was absolutely fine, he had no issues with taking his first life whatsoever and he had no phase where he was downcast either. He even had the frame of mind to suggest a change in formation that would better allow Itachi and Naruto to come to terms."

Kushina could gather from his voice that Genma was proud of the three young Genin he'd spent the last year or so training. "So they won't freeze up or hesitate in life or death situations?" Genma shook his head, "No, if they find themselves in a situation where killing became necessary they will not hesitate, they are totally desensitised to it," Genma declared in a voice brimming with conviction.

Killing was the greatest threat to rookie Genin, there was no amount of training that would properly prepare them for taking another's life and many made the mistakes of looking into the eyes as the light faded from them. Many suffered nightmares for some time afterwards so to hear her sons were fine with being so intimate with death reassured her, it also unnerved her slightly, her own experiences of coming to terms with killing for the first time weren't quite so 'pleasant'.

* * *

- **Back in the Stadium** -

Kushina was brought out of her thoughts by C's voice announcing the sixth match. Shurki's body had been removed but the pool of blood remained and her blonde son had already returned to the enclosure.

The sixth match between Kumo's Karui and Iwa's Yama would prove to be a closely fought affair but Karui came through as the winner, forcing Yama to concede the fight.

The seventh match was an all Kumo affair as Atsui and Senba contested an even but somewhat dull affair and was the longest match by far, over twenty minutes of on/ off combat finally ended with a proctor decision giving the victory to Atsui.

"Match 8: Kurotsuchi vs Kegon," C announced. Kegon wasted no time in making his way to the arena floor. "Good luck!" a once again cheery Fū shouted after him.

Kurotsuchi took her time, slowly descending the stairs with a confident smirk on her face. "Good luck Kurotsuchi-san," Naruto teased. She stopped and turned her head enough to make eye contact, "You're eager for me to beat you later, aren't you?" she replied. "Well, truth be told I reckon only you and my teammates are capable of beating me and you're far prettier than they are. So if I'm not to be the overall victor then I'd rather lose to the pretty one," Naruto laughed as he continued teasing.

If he'd been playing closer attention, Naruto might have noticed the brief blush on her face that she quickly fought down. "Well, in that case, you'd better pay attention."  
"Don't worry I will be." With that, she jumped down to the arena floor and took her place opposite Kegon. "So this is your granddaughter, Tsuchikage?" The Kazekage asked. Ōnoki only grinned as he watched Kurotsuchi assume an offensive stance. "I take it you rate her highly?" Minato asked. Ōnoki looked at him as if he'd said something incredibly stupid. "Of course I do, she's my granddaughter after all."

Eighth Match

"Kegon, ready?"  
"Hai,"  
"Kurotsuchi, ready?" Her grin grew, "Hai." Raising his hand for the final time in the first round, "Competitors ready, Hajime!"

Both Genin rushed towards one another, Kegon brought his hands together " **Suiton: Mizu Shuriken** ," (Water Release: Water Shuriken). Flicking one hand over the other produced shuriken made of water, he kept creating more as Kurotsuchi skidded to a halt while flying through a few quick hand-seals before planting them on the ground, " **Doton: Doryūheki** ," (Earth Release: Mud Wall). In front of her, a wall of mud rose from the ground protecting her as all the water shuriken embedded themselves but never penetrated through.

"Doton against Suiton is only going to end one way," Naruto noted, Tri had turned his head to face his brother as he'd started talking, out of the corner of his eye he saw Itachi's three tome spinning, ' _Hmm, what are you up to Itachi?_ '

"If Suiton is all you can do, then you're in trouble," Kurotsuchi shouted from behind her wall. Hidden behind her wall she formed the bird seal as she whispered her next Jutsu, " **Doton: Doryūsō** ," (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears) Immediately Kegon was forced on the defensive as a phalanx of earthen spikes erupted from the ground and spread out in a wide arc. ' _Damn it, I had to get a Doton user didn't I_ ' Kegon griped.

Eventually, the earth spikes came to a halt leaving a section of the arena unnavigable. Kurotsuchi emerged from behind her wall, her hands already going through seals, bringing a hand to her face, " **Suiton: Mizurappa** ," (Water Release: Water Trumpet). "Oh come on," Kegon complained as a large jet of water rocketed from her mouth towards him. Kegon didn't know any Doton Jutsu with which he could counter as he barely dodged the water jet.

" **Suiton: Mizurappa** ," Kurotsuchi called out again as she fired another jet of water towards Kegon not giving him a moment's respite. All he could do was cast the occasional water shuriken at her but any that were thrown on target would miss as Kurotsuchi would move behind her mud wall until it was safe again.

He managed to successfully dodge for a minute but eventually one finally struck him in the side driving him into the wall, "Arghh," he couldn't hold the pain in. "I'll admit, I'm impressed you managed to dodge for as long as you did." Kegon growled at her jibe, the pain in his ribs was near constant, it hurt to breathe, it hurt even more to move, ' _Her water trumpet is strong, I think she broke some ribs. And she looks unfazed by the chakra use_ '.

"Time to end this," she declared jumping atop her mud wall surveying the arena floor now covered in a layer of water several inches deep. " **Katon: Endan** ," (Fire Release: Flame Bullet) she shouted firing a fireball towards Kegon. ' _Wait that's not aimed at me, it's aimed at the water? What is she doing?_ ' Kegon wondered as he braced himself. As he was expecting the ball of fire struck the water in front of him, instantly a cloud of steam surrounded him. To everyone else, Kegon had disappeared inside the cloud.

Kurotsuchi formed the snake seal and whispered: " **Suiton: Shigure** ," (Water Release: Drizzle). Kegon was still blinded as the top of the steam cloud began condensing into an actual cloud above him. Suddenly something struck Kegon on the wrist, "Ahh!, the hell was that?" he said aloud, the pain in his wrist was severe but then he was struck again, this time on the shoulder. Within seconds he was being hit constantly, "What is this, rain? Why does it hurt so much?"

' _I can't stay here!_ ', his mind made up he rushed to the right, he couldn't go left lest he impale himself on the forest of spikes. He was struck a final time just below the back of his neck as he cleared the steam cloud. Now he could see his opponent and the audience again and they could see him. And he didn't look great, his clothing was tattered and torn, he was bleeding from numerous cuts, he sported many bruises and his breathing was heavy and ragged. "How's your wrist?" Kurotsuchi shouted over to him having noticed he was holding it in his other hand. "I think you fractured it," he bitterly replied.

He didn't have high hopes of besting her to begin with but he was resigned to being defeated now, the injury to his wrist meant he couldn't create his water shuriken; ' _My own fault for being a one trick pony I guess_ ' Kegon laughed in his head. ' _That's not to stay I'm just going to roll over mind, no, she'll have to work for it_ '.

' _What's he smiling at? I wouldn't have thought he'd have anything to smile about. Anyway, no need to use more chakra from here on out. He doesn't seem able to create more water shuriken with that wrist of his_ ' she deduced before launching herself off her mud wall towards Kegon, Taijutsu would settle the fight.

"This exchange won't take long," Naruto noted to his two teammates as Kegon ducked under a kick aimed at his head, he had lost most of his speed, however. So he couldn't dodge being struck on the shoulder by the second leg as Kurotsuchi changed her angle of attack in mid-air, her second kick coming more vertically than horizontally.

Kegon winced in pain, it was the same shoulder the strange rain had hit moments earlier. Kurotsuchi landed on her hands and spun around on them so she faced Kegon before touching down with her feet. She wasted no time in bombarding Kegon with punches and kicks and with his body hurting all over and with his speed gone and one arm of little use he could barely block much less dodge.

He was struck all over, ankles, knees, hip, ribs, kidneys, elbows, shoulders, neck and head. The fight ended with a chop from Kurotsuchi to Kegon's already injured wrist, _crack!_. The scream of pain from Kegon was cut off abruptly as he passed out, his pain receptors overloaded.

C quickly appeared next to them both and checked Kegon, with an affirmative nod of the head he stood again, "Winner by knock out, Kurotsuchi, Iwagakure." The Iwa supporting section of the crowd cheered with delight while the Tsuchikage was sporting a wide grin following his granddaughter's display. ' _Well done Kurotsuchi, you displayed enough to make the remaining competition take notice but you didn't have to reveal your true ability_ '.

"That was impressive, not many our age can use more than one Ninjutsu nature, even fewer have the presence of mind to use two in tandem like that," Naruto said to his teammates. "I agree, although it only means the second round will be more interesting than the first," Tri added just as C began to speak.

"Ladies and Gentleman, with that the first round is complete. We'll now take a thirty-minute recess so we can modify the arena floor so it better resembles a battleground. But before you go, the second round matches are as follows. Uchiha Itachi vs Deidara, Uzumaki Tri vs Fū, U. Namikaze Naruto vs Karui and Atsui vs Kurotsuchi." With that C vanished in a Shunshin as the medics finished withdrawing Kegon en-route to the hospital. A team of Kumo nin quickly set to work on changing the arena as the crowd began dispersing to the concourses.

* * *

End Chapter


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The Third Exam - Round of Eight

* * *

Minato's mind was racing. He'd just watched his two eldest children contest their first-round matches, it had been near effortless for Tri who didn't even get personally involved, his battle had been fought by a Kage Bunshin, a Kage Bunshin capable of using Fūton Ninjutsu. That raised so many questions for the Yondaime Hokage. ' _Where did he learn to create Kage Bunshin? Who taught him? Who taught him Fūton Ninjutsu?_ ' Minato could only name two Shinobi who could possibly teach Fūton and he was one of them and the other Sarutobi Asuma had only recently returned to the village following a several year stint as a member of the Shugonin Jūinshi (Twelve Guardian Ninja).

Then there was Naruto's fight, he'd had to work a little harder but he was still easily holding back, he'd used no Ninjutsu, he hadn't needed to. He'd effortlessly taken apart his opponents Kenjutsu and killed him. After he'd insulted his wife. Minato was expecting Naruto to beat him senseless but to kill his opponent was on a whole other level. Yes, the Genin competing in the Chūnin Exams were permitted to kill one another but deaths in the third round in front of an audience were rare and many of those were the result of accidents or post-match medical complications.

It wasn't just Naruto either, ' _"If you don't, then I will"_ '. Tri would have done it in his place. His eldest sons were still only ten. He was brought out of his thoughts by a voice, "Tou-san!" Minato knelt down to scoop his youngest son up in his arms. "Hey Reza-chan, have you been good for your Kaa-chan?"  
"Uh huh," he said nodding his head vigorously.

Minato had left the Kage box and made his way to the concourse behind the Konoha contingent, as before flanked by Jiraiya and Kakashi. The rest were already assembled, his villages three competitors were in discussion with those they'd spent the previous weeks training with. Kushina with Minusha in her arms was staring at her two eldest as they conversed with Tsunade and Hiruzen.

Minato moved to stand next to his wife, "Omae [ **1** ], are you ok?" he asked after kissing her cheek, snapping her out of her daze. "Hai, Anata [ **2** ], I'm fine," she replied with a weak smile. Minato gave her a smile in return, he could tell hers was forced. "Is it about the fatality?" he whispered to her. Seeing no point in denying she meekly nodded.

The blonde Hokage wrapped an arm around her waist and held her close, "I know it was tough to watch, it made me feel uncomfortable too, hearing about your own children killing is one thing, seeing it is another. But I'm happier knowing that they've overcome it, how many young Shinobi have been lost because they freeze up when it truly matters. They don't have that problem," he reassuringly said to her. It seemed to have the desired effect as her smile strengthened and she leant her head on his shoulder.

"It's not just that though, Tri-chan has to face a Jinchuriki next. Fights against developed Jinchuriki never end well."  
"I know, it's not ideal but we have to trust in him." Kushina turned to look him in the eyes, a serious expression on her face. "Minato, promise me. Promise me you'll step in." Minato thought about it a moment before conceding, "Only if absolutely necessary," a look of relief washed over her face, "Thank you, Anata."

"Are you absolutely sure you want to face Fū, Tri-kun?" Hiruzen asked, "We now know for certain that she's Takigakure's Jinchuriki."  
"Yes Hiruzen-sama sensei, my plan of action was devised under the assumption that she was, in fact, a Jinchuriki. So my plan is still good."  
"Ok, but understand that if it looks like your about to be killed we will likely step in, you are simply too talented to lose to a Chūnin Exam." Tri nodded in understanding.

"Naruto, are you ok?" Tsunade asked him, she knew he'd killed before but to do so in so public a manner as she had just witnessed. "Yeah I'm fine Tsunade-sensei, I did what was I felt was necessary. You heard him, he was out to kill me but he insulted my Kaa-chan and I will not stand for it. Whether he had been facing me or Tri it wouldn't matter, we both would have done it," Naruto explained. Tsunade wasn't entirely satisfied with his answer, she felt he went overboard but he seemed to be making clear that the topic wasn't up for discussion so she let it drop.

While Tsunade would have let it drop Hiruzen would not, not yet anyway as he and Tri joined them. "Naruto-kun, Tri-kun, I ask this to both of you. Do you understand why killing him was the correct response to his comments?" Tsunade was floored, she had expected him to berate them for going too far. Tri replied for both of them, "Yes Hiruzen-sama sensei, Shurki's comments were heard around the world by Shinobi from numerous villages, to do nothing would convey a lack of conviction and strength to all those watching."

The Sandaime Hokage nodded as he listened, "Correct, to allow comments such as those to go unanswered in so public an event would reflect badly on both the village and you since it was your family who was insulted. The Raikage knows this too, its why he won't kick up a fuss over it."

It was as Hiruzen finished talking that they were joined by the rest of the Hokage Family. Rezano wiggled out of Minato's arms and rushed over to Tri, "Nii-chan! I watched you, it was so cool!" the five-year-old cheered as he wrapped his arms around his older brother. "Arigato, Rezano-chan," he replied ruffling his blonde hair

"Tri-chan?"  
"Yes, Kaa-chan?"  
"Where did you learn the Kage Bunshin?" Kushina asked. Tri looked over at Hiruzen who nodded. "Hiruzen-sama sensei noted that I had very limited control over my substantial chakra reserves so he taught me the technique to aid me," he explained. "How is your chakra control now?" Minato asked. "24 clones for an hour every day has meant my control is now superb."  
"Should there be something that forces it of him, he has something that will display just how great his control has become," Hiruzen added.

Itachi was listening in on their conversation, he was silently cursing Lord third's decision to be vague. He was barely listening to his father as he gave what sounded like another monologue on Uchiha superiority and how he was expected to sweep aside all before him. Itachi had long grown tired of his fathers and by extension a large portion of the clan delusions of superiority.

In Itachi's eyes, the clans Dojutsu was all they had going for them, their contribution of high calibre or highly talented shinobi to Konoha felt limited to only him, his mother and Shisui, he considered his father to be little more than a middling Jōnin. He knew he had been one of the three considered to become the Yondaime but Itachi didn't really understand why.

Even as a clan their contribution to the village was somewhat limited, Uchiha Shinobi almost exclusively worked for the Konoha Police Force, Shisui was the only clan member serving in ANBU and there were no Jōnin sensei.

Frankly, Itachi didn't think very highly of the clan he was next in line to lead. He'd spent hours thinking about how he might better integrate them with the rest of the village and how he might repurpose the clan to make a greater contribution overall.

"You understand Itachi, yes?" The young Uchiha was brought out of his musing by the end of his father's latest monologue, "Mmm," was his mumbled response. With his piece said, Fugaku walked away leaving his two sons and smirking wife behind. "You weren't listening were you Itachi?"  
"No Kaa-chan, why did tou-san say something important?" Mikoto laughed before answering, "Not really." Itachi shook his head before fussing Sasuke still held in his mother's arms.

* * *

"Well, Kurotsuchi-san, what are your thoughts after the first round?"  
"My match was easy but I think I showed too much, I revealed Ninjutsu of two natures, no one else had revealed more than one, the Hokage's kid Naruto didn't show any."  
"What do you think of this Naruto?"  
"He was sandbagging, same with his teammates, my greatest challenge will come from them. You'll remember that I told you what I learnt of them from the second Exam."  
"A greater challenge than Deidara?"  
"Hai," she replied with surety.

The Tsuchikage nodded, "Yes, the Uchiha used Genjutsu, the blonde used medical Ninjutsu and the other supposedly tackled the island single-handedly. Your being with the Uchiha and Namikaze lends credence to this. And you were very much right, he is fast, I'd say that sword was about a foot away from him before he moved. But I don't see how he'll beat the Jinchuriki."

A klaxon brought their conversation to an early conclusion. It signalled the end of the half-hour recess and the beginning of the second round.

* * *

Kushina temporarily handed Minusha over to Minato so she could pull Naruto and Tri into a strong hug, "Good luck both of you."  
"Thanks, Kaa-chan," they both replied. Kushina looked around to see Mikoto doing similar with Itachi. And while she'd never say it out loud, she liked to think their lifelong mutual rivalry would continue by proxy through their children.

After Kushina had released them both the others were able to bid them farewell and good luck.

* * *

- **A few minutes later on the arena floor** -

"Ladies and Gentlemen," C called, "Welcome back to the second round now as you can see the arena has been prepared to better resemble a more realistic battlefield."

The once bare arena floor now featured a deep pond and several stone buildings, they'd even brought a small borough of trees in and planted them up against the wall. "Without further ado let the first match begin, Uchiha Itachi and Deidara to the ring please!" C called as cheers from the crowd answered his call.

The two competitors made their way to the ring, Itachi taking the stairs while Deidara jumped over the railing and walked down the wall. The blonde gave the stoic Uchiha a wide grin, "Are you ready to learn? Un."  
"Let me guess…" Itachi trailed off, Deidara bit, "Yes! You already know don't you, allow me to once again show you that true art is an explosion!" Deidara's laughing took on a crazed tone that Itachi raised an eyebrow at.

"Deidara, ready?"  
"Un!" he loudly grunted. Shaking his head, C looked to Itachi, "Uchiha Itachi, ready?" Itachi nodded, never taking his eyes off of Deidara. "Competitors ready, Hajime!"

Immediately Deidara threw a pair of shuriken that Itachi dodged by jumping to his right, throwing two shuriken of his own as he landed. Deidara ducked under one and rolled to his left to avoid the other. Down on one knee, Deidara flashed through hand-seals, " **Doton: Doryūheki,** " (Earth Release: Mud Wall). In front of him, a wall of mud rose from the ground and an instant later two more shuriken embedded in the hardened mud. Itachi had thrown them as soon as Deidara began his roll.

"You did well to spot them," Itachi called out as Deidara stood from behind his wall. Deidara didn't reply with words but instead his trademark smirk. Whilst partly hidden behind his wall he had been given a moment to withdraw some of his clay. For a few seconds a silence pervaded over their fight, it was broken by the mouth in either of his hands spitting out a small clay bird.

"It is time to begin your art lesson, Un" he cheered as the bird in his right-hand shot towards Itachi. The Uchiha, however, didn't panic, he withdrew another shuriken and a flick of his wrist cleaved the clay model in two. The halves exploding as they hit the ground. "I see, well we'll have to skip to advanced lessons then won't we!" Deidara formed a SOC on his right hand, as he did so Itachi heard the faintest of sounds around his feet, he almost missed it entirely. Looking down he found ten or twelve small white spiders. With wide eyes, he quickly looked back up at Deidara as he shouted, "KATSU!"

Gasps and cries filled the Konoha section as the explosion engulfed Itachi. As the smoke cleared many expected and were dreading the revealing of a dead or gravely injured Itachi but as the smoke finally cleared they saw neither. Instead, they found Itachi uninjured well outside the blast radius and what looked like the battered remains of..

"Is that a kunai?" Kushina asked as relief washed over her life-long rival Mikoto who was sat not two seats to her right. Genma, Hiruzen, Tri and Naruto were all chuckling, they'd seen this trick before. "Seems he's been copying you, Tri."  
"So it would seem, well those eyes are good for copying so why not, heh."

"How did you escape my art?" Deidara shouted over to him. Itachi gave the slightest of smiles before resetting his stoic look. "I borrowed a trick from one of my teammates," he replied aiming a thumbs up towards the enclosure. "My Fūinjutsu loving teammate figured out a way to combine a Henge and Kawarimi onto a paper seal. You place the tag on something, in this case, a kunai and you can disguise it as whatever you wish, in this case a clump of dirt."

"That's really simple, yet clever," Kakashi noted, Minato nodded before adding his own thoughts, "Almost as if it were a far less effective form of the Hiraishin."  
"It wasn't without risk though, he had no idea where his henged kunai was, he might have been standing on top of it." Again, Minato nodded in agreement with his former student.

"When did he place it?" Kushina asked. "They were placed before the first round matches started when the Proctor had them all lined up in the arena," Hiruzen explained as Mikoto spoke, "Kushina-san, I owe your son a big hug."

"So, how did I do in your advanced lessons?" He saw a flicker of annoyance flash cross Deidara's face before his smirk returned. "Better than most, Un." His spare hand went back into his clay pouch as he fired the bird in his left hand at Itachi. Predicting its trajectory with his Sharingan he threw another shuriken aiming to cut it down. This time, however, the bird banked right as the shuriken flew past.

' _Oh great, they can dodge too,_ ' Itachi grumbled as he began running, casting more shuriken at the suicidal clay sculpture. He skidded to a halt and threw three more shuriken before weaving hand-seals, " **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** ," his three shuriken became thirty and finally the bird was struck on the wing, again it exploded upon contact with the ground.

Itachi quickly cast his eyes over the arena floor, he easily located Deidara, he also spotted a solitary tree away from the others, then an idea struck him, ' _I need to get him in front of that tree_ '.

More hand-seals was followed by, " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** ," (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). Instead of a ball of fire, the flames better resembled a flame-thrower as he cast them in an arc that forced Deidara to move to his left towards that isolated tree. Deidara continued moving closer, ' _Almost… Almost… There!_ ' Itachi threw a kunai from his left hand.

"What's he doing, that kunai is way off target?" Naruto pondered. Tri watched on, "Why did he need him in front of the tree?"  
"Huh?" Naruto replied. "That tree, it's away from the others but Itachi used his Katon Jutsu to drive Deidara towards it." It was as Tri finished speaking that the kunai started curving towards the tree. "Okay, so the kunai is attached to ninja wire. But why?" Naruto asked to no one in particular. "I'm not su… Deidara hasn't seen the kunai, oh you clever boy."  
"What? What's he up to?" Tri only grinned, "Keep watching."

Itachi kept his face neutral as he finished the trajectory change for his kunai, it had passed the tree before Itachi began curving it back. The wire the kunai was attached to came into contact with the tree and began to wrap around it. It brought the kunai back on target as it bore down on an utterly unaware Deidara.

Itachi kept his eyes focussed solely on Deidara, trying everything he could to ignore the kunai now aimed at the back of the blonde's neck. His inactivity confused Deidara, ' _Why is he standing still? And why is his left arm held in a different stance to his right?_ '

*Slash*

Deidara was abruptly brought out of his thinking by a sharp pain at the top of his spine. A confused expression clouded over his face as he raised his left hand up to the back of his neck. Immediately his hand felt wet so he pulled it back, ' _What th…_ ' his hand was stained red. "Blood?" he exclaimed looking up at Itachi with wide eyes before looking behind him ' _How?_ '. He spotted the offending kunai a few feet away, he could also just make out the wire attached to the hoop, he followed it back to the tree then around back to Itachi.

"You.. You… You DARE!" Deidara screamed before launching the clay model held in his right hand as his anger rose. This time it wasn't a bird that appeared but a centipede, a centipede that began burrowing into the ground. ' _Oh, that's going to be a pain to keep track of_ ' Itachi thought as he sought higher ground. He made for one of the stone buildings, he reached the roof of the nearest only for the clay creature to burst up from underneath and wrap itself around him.

"Ha, HA, HAHAHA," Deidara laughed as his centipede trapped his Uchiha opponent. "Now you will feel the full power of my art! Un."

"Are you sure about that?" Itachi called back. A flicker, the briefest of flickers at the periphery of Deidara's vision. ' _Genjutsu!_ ' As quickly as he could he formed the ram hand-seal and whilst looking at his hands flushed his network with chakra, "Kai!" Looking back at the Uchiha, however, he found he was still there, squeezed by the centipede. His smirk returned, "It seems even your Genjutsu has failed you Uchiha, now Katsu!"

The Explosion consumed Itachi and the entire structure throwing chunks of stone across the arena. Deidara boisterously laughed at his opponent's demise, he continued laughing for several seconds before looking up at the Konoha section of the crowd, they weren't reacting. ' _I've just killed their Genin, why aren't they reacting. In fact, why aren't any of the crowd reacting_ '.

*Crack* That was all Deidara heard as he was struck on the back of the head by the blunt end of the very same kunai he'd been cut with. "H-How..," the question died on his lips as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed.

"Winner, by knock-out, Uchiha Itachi." This time the crowd did react, loud cheers mixed with sighs of relief from the Konoha supporters were balanced out with a wave of groans from the Iwa section of the crowd.

"Genjutsu? Deidara very deliberately avoiding looking at Itachi's eyes, so when did he get him?" Tsunade asked. "I believe it was just after he saw the blood on his hand, for just a moment he looked up at Itachi-kun," Shizune replied, Hiruzen nodded at her explanation, "Yes, I agree Shizune-san." The crowds had all watched Deidara acting out of sorts, the Genjutsu was only used on him. They could see two Itachi's, the shinobi in the crowd could assume that Deidara could only see one and unfortunately for him it was a shadow clone.

Itachi returned to the enclosure to polite applause from his two teammates, "Subtle use of Genjutsu, **Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Jutsu) I believe," Tri applauded, Itachi nodded. "Both layers were the same, weren't they? You removed yourself from both," he added to which Itachi again nodded.

Deidara had made one tiny mistake, he had looked him in the eye for a fraction of a second. With the Genjutsu in place he created a shadow clone and hid himself behind his double layered illusion. The blonde completely dropped his guard after detonating his clay centipede thus Itachi simply walked up behind him and knocked him unconscious.

"Looks like it's your turn Tri," Naruto said pointing at the medics who had finished withdrawing Deidara's unconscious form. "Next match, Uzumaki Tri vs Fū, competitors to the ring."

Tri immediately shunshined to the arena floor and watched Fū descend the steps in the enclosure before vaulting over the railing and falling the near twenty feet straight down, landing with a light thud. His eyes were momentarily drawn to the roof of the arena, ' _What? Can't be, again?_ ' he thought as he noticed a black bird perched on the edge of the roof.

Fū's cheery facial expression was gone, her eyes had hardened as she stared at her next opponent. "Well, go on then, say it," she shouted over leaving Tri confused. "Say what?" he replied which only seemed to annoy her further, if her clenched fists were anything to go by, ' _I need to keep her as calm as possible otherwise she'll decorate the arena with what's left of me,_ ' he thought as she shouted back, "How I'm a demon, a monster."

C interrupted them before Tri could respond, "Fū, ready?" She gave a firm nod of the head not taking her eyes off of Tri. "Uzumaki Tri, ready?" He took a deep breath, "Ready, Proctor-san."  
"Competitors ready, Hajime!"

Immediately Fū vanished, she reappeared a few feet above Tri, her fist cocked back ready to strike. Tri shunshined to the left leaving Fū's fist to strike the ground, her punch cratered the ground as the fractures quickly arced around her. "No clone this time?"  
"No, you're legitimate competition, I have to take you seriously," he replied as he placed his hands on the opposite forearm, "Weight seals, Kai."

Tri formed the Tiger seal and began using the Shunshin technique rapidly leaving a dozen after-images around the arena. Fū narrowed her eyes slightly before launching herself at the nearest after-image, she passed straight through it as the image faded away. "Your quick, I'll give you that," she commented before removing a further eight after-images in a matter of seconds. "As are you, Fū-san," Tri's voice replied.

She couldn't tell where the voice had come from so she blitzed the remaining two after-images which left just the original who was knelt down in front of the pond. " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** ," Tri called out as five clones appeared around him. The clones and the original split into three teams of two and spread out in a semi-circle around Fū. One of each duo weaved a set of hand-seals while the second weaved another set.

" **Suiton: Mizurappa**."  
" **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**."

The Jutsu all shot towards her but were angled slightly to collide with one another right in front of her showering her with fire, water and steam. Fū was forced to bring her arms up in an X shape and call on her Bijū's chakra to protect herself.

' _He seems to have forgotten that I know where the original one is_ '. Before the steam cloud had subsided Fū reappeared from within rushing straight for the Tri on the far left-hand side. She planted a fist into Tri's chest, she wasn't even able to form a grin on her lips before Tri vanished in a puff of smoke. ' _A clone.. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, I know I'd swap myself out with a clone. Oh well, one down, five more to punch_ '.

Wasting no time she planted a punch into the head of a second Tri, again it went up in smoke. So did the third, the fourth and the fifth. Levelling her gaze upon the sixth and final Tri, "And that makes you the original," she said before shunshining behind Tri and planting him with an overhead Ax kick. Her victory, however, was short-lived as this sixth one too went up in smoke. "What? So where the hell is the real one?" she complained looking around the arena.

She finally located him in front of one of the stone buildings, again he was knelt down. "That's getting really annoying you know," Fū complained, Tri just shrugged his shoulders as he stood, "We all take advantage of what we're good at. I use my speed and while I won't claim to understand your relationship with it, you take advantage of your Bijū's chakra."

Fū's face darkened immediately, ' _Aww cra.._ ' He didn't have time to finish his thought as she appeared in front of him, he just about managed to duck under a kick that might have taken his head clean off, he was forced to kawarimi with one of his disguised kunai to dodge the follow up punch. Luckily for him, he reappeared behind one of the buildings. ' _Great, now she's as fast as me only she hits harder_.' Tri created another shadow clone, the clone knelt down as Tri handed it something he'd pulled from one of his storage seals.

They nodded to one another before the original shunshined away.

After completing his Shunshin It took less than a second before he was dodging another punch, this time side-stepping the attempted strike. Seeing an opportunity he aimed a palm strike at her temple and connected fully.

It did nothing, her head didn't so much as budge. She slowly turned her angry gaze on him as she grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground. She slowly pulled back her right fist as Tri desperately tried to free himself. ' _I hope you've finished clone_ ', Tri Kawarimied just as Fū unleashed her fist, the clone taking his place with millimetres to spare.

Tri took a deep breath and looked at the ground as he began thinking, ' _That was way too close, the clone finished at least but I still need to do this twice more. I need to slow this down, I'm fighting on her terms right now, I need a little more time._ '

Kushina was a bag of nerves, tightly gripping little Minusha in her arms. She'd watched Tri's palm strike did nothing. She'd closed her eyes after he'd been lifted off the ground, the sighs of relief around her forced her eyes open again in time to see the puff of smoke.

"I reckon she might actually be faster than he is," Naruto said to his other teammate sat next to him. "I think you might be right, Naruto. Outside of those who teach us, I've never seen anyone push him as hard as Fū-san is right now."

Minato was sat on the edge of his seat, he had almost stepped in when Fū had Tri by the throat, the small puff of smoke that indicated the kawarimi was all that stayed him. Ōnoki and A noticed how on edge he was. Ōnoki held back on mocking him over his nervousness, after all, it could well be his granddaughter facing the Jinchuriki should they both made the final.

' _Okay, that should get me the time I need, it's still a risk though,_ ' Tri concluded, his thinking done. Luckily for him, Fū, for some reason hadn't moved from the centre of the arena. As her eyes looked away from him he made his move. Emerging from behind the shattered remnants of the house Deidara had demolished, he moved at full speed for the grove of trees to his right. Fū's enhanced hearing allowing her to locate him immediately as she rushed after him.

Tri threw two kunai over his shoulder at her, the first struck and bounced off the veil of chakra surrounding her. The second also bounced off only for the smoke bomb tied to it to explode. Fū lost sight of him and when the smoke vanished, so had Tri. "Really? Come on now, do you think I'm stupid, I know you're in the trees."

No reply.

"If you don't come out then I'll just have to flush you out," she shouted her ultimatum. Again, no reply. "Ok then, flushing you out it is." Fū slowly began weaving hand-signs, she got about half-way through when Tri make a break for it. In the blink of an eye, she was on him. She cut him off and launched a fist at his chest, she was slightly surprised he didn't have an escape plan.

Then she discovered why as the clone began to glow, *BOOM!*

A brief flash of light was followed by a big explosion, shrouding the entire arena with smoke and dust. Hiruzen nodded approvingly, 'Good use of a _Bunshin Daibakuha (Clone Great Explosion) Tri-kun._ '

It took almost a minute for the smoke to start to clear. When it did, it revealed a Fū still surrounded by the veil of thick green chakra, again she didn't have a scratch on her. The further clearing of the smoke revealed Tri out in the open, again he was knelt down.

"You are really slippery, you know that, right? Why can't you just stay still long enough for me to punch you! And why do you keep kneeling?!" A few seconds past in silence before Tri stood once more. He looked her directly in the eyes, "This is why," he replied forming the SOC in his left hand and withdrawing a kunai from storage in his right hand. " **Dai Chakra Yokusei, Fūin**." (Great Chakra Suppression, Seal).

The design at Tri's feet immediately started glowing bright blue, four more points around the arena also sparked into life and the seal design spread to encompass both competitors in a huge Pentagon.

Fū looked around her at the intricate blue lines, "So, is there a purp…." She was cut off as her chakra veil dissipated. "It's in the name Fū-san," Tri called out as he slowly walked towards her. "Thanks to this seal array, neither of us can use chakra. So no Ninjutsu for me and no Bijū chakra for you," Tri finished, making his point by levelling the kunai's point at her.

The look of anger mixed with confidence drained away from Fū's face to be replaced by fear. Without her Bijū's to call on, Fū was now incredibly vulnerable, as Tri continued to walk towards her, she took a step back. "No! Stay away!" she shouted, another step left her on her backside as she tripped on a piece of rubble.

She tucked her legs into her chest and covered her head with her arms and started crying, "Please, please don't hurt me!" she begged through her tears. Tri was disconcerted to see her utterly break down in mere moments. "How old were you?" he asked in a soft voice. Upon hearing him, she lifted her head from behind her arms, she could see he'd stopped moving towards her, "Wh-What?" she sobbed. "How old were you when they sealed it inside you?"  
"T-T-Two," she replied in a voice filled with anguish and bitterness.

Tri looked on sympathetically as Fū bawled her eyes out, this girl who seconds earlier looked set to punch his head off. "Why did they choose you?"  
"I-I'm an o-orphan, I had n-no one to watch o-over me so t-they u-used me."  
"How do they treat you?  
"They h-hate me. They m-make me live one my o-own, I-I'm only a-allowed in the village p-proper when they s-say so, I have almost n-no friends and everyone c-calls me monster or d-demon," she wailed.

Throughout their verbal exchange, Kushina found it harder and harder to suppress her anger as she listened to the Taki Jinchuriki talk while Konoha's Jinchuriki was sat next to her, blissfully unaware. "You are not a monster, Fū-san. Nor are you a demon, you are simply Fū," he tried to reassure her. "You were unfortunate enough to have had a Bijū sealed inside you. If that makes you a monster, then what does that make them," he said while staring daggers at the Takigakure contingent in the crowd.

Tri's words had stemmed most of the young girls tears.

"Unlike most who would call you such things, I have seen what a true monster looks like and it didn't have mint green hair. It had nine tails and orange fur. It didn't cry, it only killed. The very first memory I have is me staring into the eyes of the Kyūbi just before it was sealed away. You and the one it was sealed into are forced to bear burdens the rest of us simply can't understand and you should be seen as heroes for it."

Tri started walking towards Fū again. He squatted in front of her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "As for having few friends, I'd be happy to call you a friend if you'd let me, Fū-san."

The tears returned as she processed his words, Tri had only just stood again when a green-haired missile hit him in the chest. Tri smiled before returning her hug. A few seconds passed before Tri looked around, noticing the now bored crowd and the just as bored Proctor. "Uh, Fū-san, we still have a match to finish."

"Huh?" she muttered, rubbing her eyes. "Oh," she added when she too realised, quickly breaking the hug and jumping back with a look of embarrassment. "So how are we ending this?"  
"Don't suppose you'd fancy removing the seal?" she inquired. Tri laughed, "Nope." Fū laughed back, "Yeah, I didn't think so. Guess I've no choice really. Proctor, I concede." C along with a portion of the audience sweatdropped at the anti-climax as Fū started making her way back to the enclosure.

"Well, a wins a win I guess," Shizune said, breaking the silence. Hiruzen broke into light-hearted laughter as Tri cancelled the seal, "If ever there were a greater advert to the power of Fūinjutsu," he said to a chorus of nods.

Unfortunately, some in the crowd didn't agree as a few boos rang around. Tri just ignored them as he too made his way back to the enclosure.

"His ability with Fūinjutsu is far greater than I could have imagined."  
"I'll admit Sensei, when Kushina-sama said Tri-san had a level 7 knowledge in Fūinjutsu, I had my doubts. But this utterly dispels them," replied a deeply impressed Kakashi. "I know what you mean Kakashi. It seemed beyond belief but he really does. While that seal design wasn't unique, it was a sizeable modification." Jiraiya meanwhile said nothing, Tri's continued success irking the Sannin.

"Well Itachi, did you learn anything this time?" Naruto received his answer in the form of a slight scowl. "I'll take that as a no then," the blond laughed which only made him scowl more. "Don't you have a match to attend to?" Itachi bluntly replied as Fū re-entered the Enclosure, Tri a few seconds behind her. Tri noted the foreboding look on Itachi's face and the mirthful smile on Naruto's, "What? Didn't he learn anything aga…"

"Shut up Tri! Not another word!" he snapped which only made it worse for the Uchiha as both brothers started laughing.

"Hey Fū-san, you're welcome to sit with us since you're on your own," Tri called up to the Kunoichi. She was halfway up the stairs when she'd heard him, she turned on the spot, "Uh, sure. Thanks." Descending back down the stairs she took a chair in the row just behind them. She introduced herself to Naruto and Itachi, the blonde gave her a wave as Itachi composed himself to politely greet her.

"You're pretty strong Fū-san," Naruto complimented, "I…We've never seen anyone push Tri that hard."  
"Uh, thanks," she replied with a wry smile. "And he's right, no one beyond our Sensei has pushed me that seriously before, you forced me to start improvising towards the end. I don't particularly enjoy improvising. Whether this one here," Tri said nodding towards Itachi, "will do better, we shall see later."

"Next match, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto vs Karui, competitors to the arena floor!" Naruto gave a final nod to his teammates as he shunshined down below. Karui following a few seconds later. The two stared each other down, "So, am I going to end up in the morgue too?" Karui asked accusingly. Naruto entered his Taijutsu stance, "Just keep the insults to yourself and you'll be fine." She gave him a brief nod and slipped into her own stance.

"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, ready?"  
"Hai."  
"Karui, ready?"  
"Hai." C raised his arm and quickly brought it down again, "Hajime!"

Naruto went on the offensive immediately, " **Suiton: Mizurappa** ," (Water Release: Water Trumpet). Karui rolled to her right to avoid the jet of water before replying with her own Jutsu, " **Raikyū** ," (Lightning Ball). Four spheres of electrical energy sparked into life around her before she sent them towards Naruto. ' _Seems I have the nature type advantage_ ' he thought as he performed more hand-seals, " **Fūton: Daitoppa** ," (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The gust of wind threw the spheres right back at her forcing her to cancel the Jutsu before they struck her. "Tsk, of course you know Fūton," she bemoaned, "why couldn't you use Doton or something." Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "What's to say I don't, but it'd useless against your Raiton," he replied.

Minato watched on while his mind whirred, ' _Hmm, Two different Ninjutsu natures and he's insinuating that he knows a third. Suiton, Fūton and Doton make for a strange combination to say the least. A good balanced mix though. Counter fire with water, lightning with wind, he's perhaps susceptible to other Doton users. I wonder if Tri knows more than just Fūton._ ' He was pulled out of his thoughts as the fight restarted.

" **Raisen** ," (Lightning Flash) Karui shouted as she threw a stream of shuriken bathed in Raiton chakra. The shuriken discharged arcs of electricity behind them. " **Suiton: Mizurappa** ," Naruto fired another jet of water at the shuriken, upon contact the electricity discharged through the water. More hand-seals as Naruto unleashed the second half of his plan, " **Fūton: Reppūshō** ," (Wind Release: Gale Palm) Naruto channelled more chakra than he normally would as he unleashed another gale of wind. It was powerful enough to stop the shuriken and turn them back towards Karui.

She went wide-eyed as the electrified stream of water charged towards her. Again she rolled to avoid but it wasn't enough as her foot was caught in the water. It was brief but not brief enough, "AGGH!" she screamed as her own lightning coursed up her leg.

' _Well done, Naruto-chan. You amplified her Jutsu then turned it against her_ ', Kushina mentally complimented with a proud smile on her face.

Karui was down for a few seconds before she tried to stand again, she couldn't feel anything in her right leg, it was completely numb. ' _Gah, great. How do I fight on one leg._ ' She drew her katana and as her fellow Kumo Genin had in the first round, she used it to lean on as she stood.

' _Guess she can't feel her leg. Soo.. Why am I standing still_?' He immediately shot forward, drawing one of his tantō. He slashed with the blade and she dodged, ' _Huh, she can still move well enough despite being down a leg_.' And she kept it up, using her natural flexibility and agility to weave her way through Naruto's Taijutsu and Kenjutsu bombardment even though she couldn't counter-attack.

' _Just a little longer_ ,' rang through her head, with every second that passed she could feel her leg coming back to her. Naruto's offence continued, Karui bide her time, looking for her opening.

' _There!_ ' In an instant, Naruto was forced on the defensive as a chest-high thrust was deflected leaving him wide open. He shifted his body weight over and leant left dodging the counter thrust from Karui. He still received a shallow cut on his right side, just above his hip.

Naruto jumped back as his hand instinctively went to his side. "You baited me," he joked. A small smirk spread across Karui's face, "Yep and now I know your Taijutsu and Kenjutsu styles." Naruto smirked back, "Well in that case then, I'd better mix things up a bit," he replied as he reversed his grip on his tantō and changed his stance.

"Wait does Naruto-chan know more than one style?" Kushina wondered aloud, Tsunade and Guy both grinned while Hiruzen answered her. "Yes Kushina-san, both Tsunade and Gai here taught him their Taijutsu styles, by melding them together Naruto created a third as well as incorporate Kenjutsu into all three." Kushina then noticed Naruto's hand was glowing green, "He knows medical Ninjutsu too? Is there anything you haven't been teaching them?"

Before she could receive her answer Naruto attacked with an angled diagonal slash that Karui only just avoided with a small jump back. A counter swing was blocked and she got a punch on the shoulder for her efforts. The punch was followed by a swift kick which she was able to block with a leg of her own. Karui countered with a head-butt.

*Clang* The metallic sound echoed around the arena as their Hitai-ate's slammed against one another. The two broke away before rushing at one another, this time their swords collided, a constant grinding noise as the blades fought for dominance. With the blades engaged both felt back on Taijutsu as punches, elbows, knees and kicks were thrown, blocked and countered.

This continued for the next five minutes; They'd block one another's sword, engage in Taijutsu, break apart and repeat. Initially, Naruto had the advantage thanks to his shorter weapon and his unknown second combat style but Karui had adapted by now leaving it an even affair, both had had close calls.

They broke apart again, ' _Okay, this isn't working anymore. It's frustrating but I need to use my hybrid style. I was hoping not to have to use this until the semi-finals at least._ ' Naruto's hybrid style was incredibly effective, it combined the elements of Tsunade and Gai's styles that played to Naruto's strengths along with Naruto's own additions. It was, however, lacking in complexity meaning it was easy for an opponent to learn.

"You know, overall, out of the two of us, I'd say you're the better at Kenjutsu," he admitted. She raised an eyebrow at his comment, "Is that right, well I'd best kick it up a gear." As she spoke she changed the way she held her sword.

"Oh, I know that stance," A grinned. Naruto assumed a defensive posture as Karui closed her eyes. She opened them again and made her move, using speed she had not yet displayed, " **Kumo-Ryū Omotegiri** ," (Cloud-Style Front Beheading) A single swing, that's all it was. If it wasn't for his training alongside Tri and that he'd improved his speed over the previous month he'd of been left with more than the long laceration down his arm he got.

Naruto's hand immediately covered the cut and glowed green. ' _I don't have the time to fully heal this, I'll just staunch the bleeding and have Tsunade-sama sensei see to it afterwards._ ' In short order, he stopped the bleeding. "Okay, that was pretty good. Let's see how I stack up."

He drew his second tantō and set himself. Just as he had before, Karui took a defensive posture as her opponent readied himself. " **Ni Ha-Ryū Chōkin Katto** ," (Twin Blade-Style Engraving Cuts) Naruto vanished in a blur of speed, that's when the cuts started appearing across Karui's body. She was powerless to stop the quick shallow cuts from digging into her flesh. She simply couldn't respond fast enough to block much less counter. Soon it was tens, then it became dozens, then it broke into triple figures.

Naruto ceased, the edges of both tantō were painted red with blood. Karui herself was unsteady on her feet, her outfit was almost in ribbons, her Hitai-ate fell to the floor, the material holding it to her forehead cut through, a great amount of her hair joined it. While her face had been spared, her arms and legs were riddled with cuts, some bled, some didn't. Karui took a wobbly step and almost collapsed, her sword slipped from her grasp.

She took another step, this time she did collapse. She was still conscious but she struggled to move her arms and legs.

"Karui has until the count of ten to stand," C declared as he began the count in his head. Karui tried desperately to move her joints but she couldn't, as C's count reached 8 she lost what little progress she'd made flopping back to the ground. The count hit 10, "Karui is unable to continue, Winner is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto."

Karui let out an exacerbated groan, "Damn it." All the cuts littering her body weren't that painful but they stung a lot. Naruto knelt down next to her and held his hands over her knees. "What are you doing?" She asked the pain in her knees lessened. "I'm healing the cuts around your joints so you can move unless you want to be carried out of here." Her only response was a grunt.

By the time the medics reached them Naruto had undone the damage dealt to her knees and elbows allowing her to limp to the hospital under her own power.

A sighed in resignation, one of his two remaining competitors was now out and while Atsui was regarded as the strongest of the Kumo Genin, he didn't fancy his chances against Ōnoki's granddaughter. "Why do I get the feeling we're looking at an all Konoha finals," Rasa mused. Ōnoki snorted at his comment, "I'm not doubting your granddaughter Ōnoki but even you have to begrudgingly admit that their title of 'Prodigal Three' is justified."

"Minato, how does Konoha keep doing this?" A asked. "What do you mean A?"

"What I mean is how does your village keep producing shinobi of this quality. First, it was Hashirama, Tobirama and Madara, then it was Hiruzen and his three Sannin then came you and your wife Kushina and Kakashi behind you. Now it seems these three are destined for great things." Minato thought on his comments a moment before Kakashi spoke. "I have to agree with Raikage-Dono. Konoha does seem to have a knack for producing S-Rank or borderline S-Rank Shinobi at a far greater rate than the other major villages."  
"Hmm, you raise a good point, we do seem to find substantial quality every decade or so. Perhaps this is a palpable effect from the will of fire."

"Well, that's three out of three," Tsunade grinned while Gai's joyful display continued unabated. "One guaranteed finalist too," Shizune cheerfully added, she had a proud smile on her face. She'd just watched Naruto claim victory, heal and then shake the hand of his opponent. "Yes Shizune-san, Itachi and Tri's fight especially looks like it'll be one for the ages. I'm sure you have planned for just such an eventuality haven't you Mikoto-san?" Hiruzen asked with a grin, getting one in return. "Don't worry Sandaime-Sama, Itachi-chan has an answer for Tri-san."  
"And I expect Tri-kun has an answer for Itachi-kun, right Sandaime-Sama?" Shizune asked. "He does indeed Shizune-san."

"Well done Naruto," Tri said greeting him as he returned to the now very empty Enclosure. He, Itachi and Fū were down the front. The last remaining Kumo Genin Atsui was stood in front of the railing waiting for the call while Kurotsuchi was sat near the back, her legs propped up on the seat in front of her. The pink-eyed Genin was pondering on how to combat the blonde Namikaze she was confident she would be facing in the Semi-finals. ' _My next opponent uses Katon with Kenjutsu. Sure I know Suiton and Doton to counter his chakra nature but for that sword. I may have to use it.._ '

"Next Match, Kurotsuchi vs Atsui, competitors to the arena." Atsui was there in an instant, his opponent, however, took her sweet time. Getting out of her seat and descending the steps to the railing at an agonisingly slow pace.

Tri turned his head to see what was keeping her, it took a second or two but when he realised he burst out laughing. "What are you laughing at?" Fū asked him. "She's clever. Her next opponent seems rather eager, eager to the point where he doesn't like waiting around. So how better to annoy him and get under his skin than making him wait."

While he spoke Atsui had already begun pacing back and forth. And as he finished speaking Kurotsuchi reached the railing. "You know, you three are too smart for your own good when you want to be," she muttered before vaulting the railing. Naruto's laughter joined his brothers as she dropped to the arena floor.

"Finally!" Atsui exclaimed. ' _Too smart but not incorrect_ ' she thought, a wide grin spreading across her face. ' _But thanks to that, I already have a way to beat him._ ' She mentally chuckled, ' _Helped out by a Konoha Shinobi, what would my father and Grandfather think_ '.

"Atsui, ready?" Kurotsuchi thought his head was going to fly off given how eagerly he nodded his head. C noticed it too, "Okaayy then, Kurotsuchi, ready?"  
"Hai."  
"Hajime!"

"Finally! Now let's turn up the heat!" Atsui shouted as he rushed forward Katana drawn. He swung the blade in front of him several times, each time a small jet of fire the length and width of his katana appeared and headed straight for her. "Creating fire by channelling chakra through your sword huh. Not too bad I guess. " **Suiton: Mizurappa** ," (Water Release: Water Trumpet) the jet of water consumed the fire, completely extinguishing them. The water, however, didn't stop, it continued rushing towards Atsui but he easily dodged, jumping to his right.

"Hmph, seems my flames weren't hot enough, let's crank it up a few gears." His katana started glowing before it was suddenly wreathed in flame. "You know whenever I hold my sword like this, all covered in flame. I can't help but imagine myself as a hero in a far-off land, leading from the front, valiantly charging the enemy, my name would be something like 'Thoros of Myr'.

Kurotsuchi was confused, she turned her head towards the Kumo contingent in the crowd. "Is he normally like this?" she shouted up to them. "Yes!" a busty blonde shouted back, getting a ripple of laughter from amongst the Kumo nin. "Sis!" Atsui complained. "Just get on with it! Your heat based japery is grating!"

"Hmph," he muttered, ignoring his sister's comments as he set himself again. "So, your one for heat are you. Well then, let's see how you handle this." She weaved her hand-seals ending with bird, " **Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu** ," (Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique) Kurotsuchi aimed into the air and released a canopy of fluidic lava over the top of Atsui.

"Yōton?" Said a bewildered Tri, "Yōton's a Kiri bloodline. I wonder how it found its way to Iwa?"

Atsui didn't wait around as he rushed to get out from under the descending liquid fire. A final jump into a roll got him clear as the lava hit the ground with a thud/ splash, hissing as it flash boiled any moisture on the ground.

"Well, I'll admit lava is certainly hotter than fire. Now let's both get hot and physical!" he loudly declared. Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow, most cringed and Samui buried her face in her hands, "Oh for Kami sake, Baka." Meanwhile, Atsui looked utterly clueless to his double entendre. "Yeah, I'm gonna have to say no," Kurotsuchi bluntly replied, seeing an opportunity to test his patience.

The seconds dragged on in near silence, the look of frustration building on Atsui's face. The silence continued until finally, he snapped, That's it, no more waiting around! I'm going to end this now!" he shouted, levelling the tip of his katana at her. She let out a tiny smirk as he rushed headlong towards her.

He almost missed her hand-seals, " **Doton: Doryūheki** ," (Earth Release: Mud Wall) the wall of mud shot up in front of him and he couldn't stop in time as his katana embedded itself in the wall. Unlike all the previous uses of the Jutsu, however, instead of a straight wall, it was shaped like a horseshoe and far higher at 10ft high. The only break in the wall was directly behind Atsui. A brief moment to think passed, he decided to abandon his sword and get out of what was clearly a trap.

That moment proved to be too long, by the time he'd turned around Kurotsuchi had blocked him in. " **Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu** ," (Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique) Kurotsuchi released a large ball of quicklime that enveloped Atsui up to his shoulders. "What the hell is this?" he yelled.  
"It's my quicklime, it's fantastic for trapping things and holding them still."  
"Holding them still? Ha, I'll be out of here in no time." She simply shook her head at his ignorance. " **Suiton: Mizurappa** ," a jet of water struck the quicklime and it set solid in seconds holding Atsui completely still. "Concede."

He looked at her as if she'd gone mad, "Concede? Me? Never!" he defiantly roared. The pink-eyed Kunoichi let out an exacerbated sigh before kneeling down and placing her palms on the ground, a mud wall rose behind her to completely enclose Atsui. "You either concede or die," she stated, jumping on top of the wall.

" **Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu** ," the stream of lava was aimed at the ground and began pooling, it had nowhere to go but up. It quickly passed Atsui's feet, then his knees, quickly followed by his hips. He could feel the heat through the set quicklime. As the lava passed his stomach he gave in, "OK! OK! I CONCEDE!" he wailed having decided he didn't want to be buried under molten rock.

The second mud wall she'd raised immediately collapsed allowing the lava level to recede through the gap. C joined Kurotsuchi on the larger wall and together they started casting water Jutsu to cool down the lava that remained. After doing so he declared to the crowd, "Winner by concession, Kurotsuchi."

The Iwa nin cheered while the Kumo nin groaned as their final competitor was defeated. "Wow, that was an impressive display," Naruto said to the three around him."  
"That it was Naruto, she used a lot of chakra though," Itachi added noticing she was drawing breathe a little harder than before. "If she's not considerate of her chakra usage then that's your opportunity, Naruto. You have far more chakra than she does, simply outlast her." Naruto nodded, taking in Itachi's advice.

"Ōnoki, I'm intrigued as to how you've cultured a Kekkai Genkai one would usually associate with Kirigakure," asked an interested Rasa. "Village secret I'm afraid, Rasa." A snorted while Minato laughed, "I think that's code for 'mind your own business' Rasa."  
"Certainly seems that way Minato," the Kazekage sheepishly replied.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, that brings the second round to a close, we will now take another thirty-minute recess before the semi-finals. The matches during the next round will be Uchiha Itachi vs Uzumaki Tri and Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto vs Kurotsuchi." C shouted to the crowd triggering an exodus to the concourses. There was food to be bought and bets to be made.

* * *

End Chapter

And there's another four fights completed. Only a few more remain but now I can move on to writing the Tri/ Itachi fight, the one I've been wanting to do for a while.

You'll have to let me know what you think of the Tri, Fū fight, I needed it to end on an anticlimax but I can't decide if I'm happy with it or not.

* * *

 **1 – Omae/ Kimi is a term a husband may use to refer to his wife, the term is used in place of their name.**

 **2 – Anata is a term a wife may use to refer to her husband, the term is used in place of their name.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

 **Con9512:** Thank you friend, I was apprehensive over whether I could write a good fight so your words are most welcomed.

 **Nypism:** Thank you for the detailed review. And yes any relationships won't won't start for years yet but we're nearing another the final time skip before Canon starts. Also I won't hint at anything for Tri since it might trigger spoilers. And yeah, Yoton's origins are unknown but I went with Kiri since it seems to be the land of a million Kekkai Genkai.

Funnily enough you get your very first glimpse into Tri's past in this chapter even thought it doesn't reveal anything, this plot point is going the distance, just as an FYI.  
I was unsure on whether to give Naruto Mokuton initially but he needs an ace card so he will likely learn it. But his ability with it will be more like Yamato's instead of Hashirama's. Tri's learning the Hiraishin will be for transport only since he's pretty bad at Taijutsu (plus it would make him pretty much unbeatable). Itachi's full power and his disease will be answered as will the summoning contracts further down the line.

Only one Winner

* * *

Everyone had retaken their seats, the anticipation amongst the Konoha section of the crowd had built and built. Who would come out on top, the Uchiha clan heir or the Uzumaki clan heir. Both were some of the highest scoring graduates since Minato set the record nearly two decades earlier.

The anticipation wasn't just confined to the arena in Kumo, Konoha had slowed to a standstill. Thousands were watching on screens set up around the village. The rest of class 14 were sat together in Konoha's Chūnin Exam stadium to watch their friends compete. Hundreds of Shinobi of all ranks from Genin to off-duty ANBU were also present.

Also in attendance with her parents was an 8-year-old girl with pink hair. She was all set to join the Academy in just a few months' time so the tournament captivated her. That and one of her best friends was about to contest his semi-finals match. He assisted with her training when he had time and it had helped her greatly. Instilling in her a steely determination to succeed as well as establishing a comprehensive training regime that she stuck to.

"This is going to be good," Tsunade declared as Tri and Itachi took to the arena. "YOSH! The fires of youth will be on full display!" replied an elated Gai. "There'll be no sandbagging from here on, they'll both be going full tilt for this, they have to," Hiruzen added. Mikoto and Kushina were a mix of nervous and excited while Rezano and Sasuke were bouncing in their seats.

The two boys were stood across the arena floor from one another. Naruto and Fū were still up in the Enclosure as was Kurotsuchi who'd moved down to the front row too, all be it, she was still sitting several seats away on her own.

"Uchiha Itachi, ready?" He gave a slow nod. "Uzumaki Tri, ready?"  
"Hai Proctor." As Tri responded Itachi span his tomoe menacingly. "Out of the ordinary for you Itachi," Tri called over.  
"This won't be an ordinary match," he replied with a slow shrug. "You're right, it won't be."  
"Competitors ready, Hajime!"

C began the match to a great cheer from the crowd, the fighters answer, however, was to do nothing.

Both were stood stock still, neither wanting to be the first to blink. The seconds seemed to last an eternity but finally the battle began.

" **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**." (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)  
" **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**."

The opposing balls of fire clashed and fought for control but as those who knew expected Itachi's won out as it slowly overwhelmed Tri's. The Uzumaki having to take a leap to the side to avoid the encroaching flames. "Ah well, can't say I'm all that surprised. Your Katon was always stronger than mine," Tri admitted.

"So why did he try?" Kushina asked in bemusement. "To waste chakra," Tsunade replied, "Tri's chakra reserves are vast compared to Itachi's. Every exchange in Ninjutsu that doesn't end the fight is in Tri's favour."  
"Hmph, not that it matters. He can have all the chakra in the world and it still won't be enough to beat the Sharingan," Fugaku smugly stated, speaking for the first time. Tsunade rolled her eyes, ' _We'll see if that delusion lasts the match,_ ' she thought to herself.

"Not much point in us bothering with Taijutsu is there Itachi." The Uchiha shook his head, "Not really since I can't get close enough, little reason to use Genjutsu either, you helped me train my Sharingan Genjutsu after all." Tri took heed of his comment as his mind began analysing his words. ' _What are you up to, Itachi? Why would you be trying to make this a Ninjutsu fight only?_ '

"Kaa-chan, why are Itachi-san and Nii-chan not doing anything?" asked a confused Rezano. "They're fighting not just with their Jutsu, they're fighting with their minds. They're trying to figure out what the others plan is. Both of them are very smart so you might have to be patient, ok?" she explained. "Okay, Kaa-chan."  
"Spot on Kushina-sama," Hiruzen said, "Both are very smart, this fight might go on for a while. Whoever figures out the other first is probably going to win."

' _Ok, I need to corner you somewhere Tri. But where is best._ ' He envisioned a birds-eye view of the arena layout in his mind, he quickly found what he was looking for. ' _Those stone buildings are long enough and close enough together to act as one half of a tunnel, If I make the other half I can trap him in there_.'

Itachi kicked off towards Tri, throwing multiple kunai at him. Tri dodged with relative ease as they both wound up the pace. ' _Ok Itachi, I'll let you lead this dance of ours_.' Tri was being made to move fast enough that he didn't notice some of the kunai were supplemented with explosive tags. He also missed that some of the kunai weren't aimed at him.

It continued for nearly a minute but none of the kunai struck Tri and Itachi was having to recycle them moving around so he could pick them up. " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** ," Itachi called out firing another sphere of flame towards his friend and teammate. Tri jumped slightly to the side, " **Suiton: Suijinheki** ," (Water Release: Water Formation Wall) using chakra kneaded in his stomach he expelled a large volume of water that he shaped into a wall to confront the fireball.

The wall of water was built vertically but at a 45° angle to the fireball, it meant it had more water to travel through to reach its target. ' _That fireball is still pushing through, managed to make your Katon stronger, eh Itachi._ ' Tri mentally chuckled. " **Suiton: Mizurappa** ," (Water Release: Wild Water Wave) [ **1** ]. Using the time he had Tri began firing water left and right across his liquid wall, reinforcing it. It worked as the flames began to ebb.

"Two Suiton Jutsu to counter one Katon.. Either Tri's Suiton isn't very strong or Itachi's Katon is very strong indeed," said an interested Kakashi. While his ever-present book was in his hand, his eyes were solely focused on the fight going on beneath him. "It won't really matter, the stamina of an Uzumaki against an Uchiha is only ever going to have one winner," Jiraiya commented.

The fireball was finally quelled as the last flickers were extinguished. Tri charged a lot of chakra as he started more hand-seals. " **Fūton: Reppūshō** ," (Wind Release: Gale Palm) with a mighty clap of his hands the wall of water that had defended him began to rumble forward. Itachi acted immediately, " **Doton: Doryūheki** ," (Earth Release: Mud Wall) a wall of mud rose in front of Itachi as the water slammed into it.

Itachi's wall held. With the threat posed by the water blunted Itachi jumped atop his new mud structure. "Doton? Since when have you kn.. Wait that's what you were doing during the first round. You were stealing a few Jutsu you little copycat," Tri laughed. Itachi gave him a wry smile.

"Just for that, I'm breaking your wall." Tri threw several kunai with explosive tags and summarily blew Itachi's wall to pieces. As the smoke cleared it became clear to Tri that Itachi had moved elsewhere. ' _Bah, smart move. I have to be careful looking for him lest I look down the barrel of his Sharingan._ '

Tri closed his eyes and formed the bird seal with his hands and opened his senses up to the environment around him, flooding the arena with his chakra allowed it to act as a detection net. ' _Now, where are you hiding?_ '

A minute passed with no results, ' _He's perfectly still_.'

"Let's make him move," Tri whispered to himself. Changing his hand-seal to Ram, " **Fūton: Kamikaze**." (Wind Release: Divine Wind) Tri released a gust of wind that formed several small tornadoes that quickly descended on the grove of trees, branches were snapped off and chunks of bark were torn away.

" **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** ," Tri said as he poured fire into the funnels of wind, the effect was immediate as the two techniques combined. Flames were thrown across the arena igniting all the greenery. But nothing came out of the trees, "Hmm, not in the trees then. So where are you Itachi?" he wondered aloud as the trees burned.

Suddenly his senses alerted him to something behind him, quickly spinning on the spot he found Itachi in the air heading straight for him. Tri threw a kunai and it hit the Uchiha in the shoulder. ' _No blood? Can't be a shadow clone, that leav…_ ' Tri went wide-eyed as Itachi began glowing white.

He took a huge leap back as the clone detonated, the shockwave threw him back yet further than he'd of liked as he crashed into the arena wall. He fell to his knees and moved a green shrouded hand to the back of his head to quell the pain from his head bouncing off the wall. As the throbbing in his head subsided he scanned the arena looking for any signed of his quarry.

He was brought out of his silent observing by a light hissing to his right, he turned his head as the illusion on a piece of rubble faded to reveal a roll of lit explosive tags. ' _Oh come on!_ ' he thought as he scrambled away quickly running through hand-seals as the tags exploded, " **Fūton: Reppūshō** ," he brought his palms together aimed at the tags just before the shockwave hit him.

The wave of wind blunted some of the shockwave but not enough to prevent him getting launched into the wall of one of the stone structures.

This time Tri had to pick himself up off the floor. His exposed face and arms were riddled with small cuts and scuffs, there was a cut somewhere on his scalp as blood trailed down the side of his face. There was a slight rumbling as Tri once more went to numb the throbbing pain in his head.

As his swimming vision lessened he again began his search for Itachi. He had noticed something just before he'd discovered the explosive tags. The flames consuming the trees was throwing off a lot of heated air that left heat haze at the other end of the arena floor. Except for a small section where it was bizarrely absent. Tri allowed himself a ragged smile, ' _Found you_.' He dragged himself to his feet with far less difficulty than he made it look.

"Tri-kun isn't looking too good, he's going to end up with a concussion if he keeps hitting his head off of everything," said a worried Shizune. Fugaku wore a smug grin as he watched his son take control of the fight, "See, I told you all that chakra wouldn't help him."  
"Don't be so sure Fugaku-sama," Hiruzen countered, "things aren't always what they seem." Rezano had quickly decided he didn't like Itachi's dad while Kushina was doing everything in her power to not stare daggers at the Uchiha.

Tri looked uneasy on his feet, struggling to stand still. Itachi was wondering whether they'd even reach the end game. He watched the Uzumaki closely so saw the flick of the wrist, he barely got a moment's warning before a flurry of shuriken embedded themselves deep into the wall surrounding him. Turning his head he saw that the shuriken were properly buried in the wall, ' _Those were coated in Fūton chakra_ ' thought a relieved Itachi. Seeing the gig was up he dropped the cloak.

Tri shook his head in mirthful disbelief, "the **Kakuremino no Jutsu** , (Cloak of Invisibility Technique) really?" he shouted over. "What was it Hiruzen-sama-sensei told us after we left the academy, 'Never under appreciate the academy techniques'. Nevertheless, Tri, I believe it is time I ended this." Tri raised an eyebrow, "And how do you intend to do that?"

"I'll spare telling you, it's much quicker to just show you. Pictures speak a thousand words or so they say." Tri furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, ' _What does he mean, he's being cryptic. I wonder.._ ' He formed the Ram seal and flushed his system with chakra.

Sure enough an illusion dissipated revealing a lengthy mud wall to his right, with the stone buildings to his left he was boxed in at the end of a makeshift tunnel around 15ft wide. Both sides he also noticed were lined with explosive tags.

"You see, Tri. The way to beat you is to get you to stand still," Itachi called over to him as he placed himself at the 'exit' to his tunnel. "You were so focused on not looking me in the eyes even going so far as to close your own eyes to search me out. It made using non-ocular Genjutsu much easier. I built the mud wall as my clone launched you into the wall. The tags were to get you into a position where I could finish the wall and trap you."

Tri was unmoved as Itachi explained further. "But illusions won't beat you, nor Taijutsu so that leaves only Ninjutsu but again your speed allows you a great of deal of freedom in regards to dodging. Now, however, you can't dodge my Jutsu without meeting my explosive tags."

"Seems the Uchiha has gotten the best of your kid, Minato," Rasa commented. The Hokage was too busy watching on to pay him any heed.

"So what do you think, is it over?" Fū asked Naruto sat next to her. "I'm not sure, Tri always has a plan B but Itachi's plan seemed to have worked perfectly."

"Well Gaki, if you were ever going to show me that you learnt something, now's the time," muttered the figure watching from Suna.

"See, it's over. He should concede before Itachi ends up doing some permanent damage," Fugaku arrogantly declared drawing a deep scowl from Rezano which the Uchiha clan head noticed. "Sorry kid but that's just how it is. He's good I'll admit but we've already seen he can't beat Itachi's Ninjutsu."

"Then I suggest you keep watching," Hiruzen snapped back. "Oh? Know something we don't, Sensei?" asked Tsunade. He turned to face her with a grin, "Of course, did you really think Tri wouldn't have something to counter Itachi's Ninjutsu."

Tri, who had been silent since discovering the Genjutsu started to chuckle, slowly the volume increased. Finally he threw his head back and laughed deeply, there was the slightest maniacal edge to his laughter. He also started clapping, "Well played Itachi, well played. You came in with a plan and executed it brilliantly… But."

"While it is correct that you've forced me to remain stationary, it has the double-edged sword effect of making you stationary too. And thus my plan also comes to completion. But alas, I agree Itachi. It is time to end this."

Both immediately began calling on vast amounts of their remaining chakra, both holding the Tiger seal whilst doing so. Hiruzen took note, "This is it, hold on to something."

Itachi finished preparing chakra first, he wove the horse hand-seal, " **Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku!** " (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation) Itachi released a sea of flames wide enough the completely fill the distance between the mud wall and stone buildings.

Fugaku was in shock, "My son, how has he learnt the pinnacle of Katon at such a young age!?" Mikoto was wearing a small smug smile but said nothing. Hiruzen, however, was unconcerned, "Keep watching, he's almost ready," he said as he watched what looked like steam coming from Tri's mouth and nostrils.

Despite the wall of flames bearing down on him, Tri continued kneading more chakra. Finally he began his hand-seals ending with Tiger. First taking a deep breath he spoke, " **Shakuton: Kami Hi Kaze no Jutsu.** " (Scorch Release: Divine Fire Wind Technique)

Everyone's jaws dropped as Itachi's sea of flames was met by a howling firestorm as the two Jutsu slammed together. With the flames hemmed in on both sides it had nowhere to go but up as the two walls of combating fire pushed against one another, each seeking dominance over the other. The combined heat thrown off by their clashing Jutsu had many in the crowd holding their hands in front of their faces in a vain attempt to shield themselves.

It started slowly but began building up a head of steam, Tri's Shakuton powered Jutsu started pushing Itachi's back. The Uchiha realised he had a huge problem, ' _What in the name of Kami is this Jutsu, the most powerful Katon Jutsu known can't hold it._ ' He began thinking, desperately looking for something, anything that would help.

The seconds passed and the firestorm drew ever closer as Itachi had an idea. ' _That's a terrible idea but it's all I've got_.' He cancelled his Jutsu and formed the Seal of Confrontation. "Here goes nothing," he said aloud as he triggered all his remaining explosive tags. The detonations shattered the mud wall and buildings, it also completely destabilised both Jutsu.

 ***BOOM!***

The resulting explosion was absolutely enormous as the built up power behind both Jutsu was released in an instant. It was strong enough to rock the stadium and parts of Kumo. Every window in the arena shattered as the shockwave hit. The overwhelming heat was thrown up into the crowd as debris was thrown clean out of the stadium to land on roofs and streets surrounding the arena.

The dust and smoke thrown up completely shrouded the arena as it plumed into the sky through the open roof, spectators could barely see one another much less the competitors. And it was clearing incredibly slowly, so slowly that Minato waited no longer and jumped down to clear it himself.

" **Fūton: Reppūshō** ," a single powerful clap of his palms sent another plume skywards. He was quickly joined by others as Kushina and Mikoto jumped down. "Tri-chan!"  
"Itachi-chan!" shouted both the concerned mothers. Naruto had a look of shock, Fū's bottom jaw had dropped while Kurotsuchi was wide-eyed. The other Kage stared on in wide-eyed amazement. Rezano and Sasuke looked on the verge of tears.

It was still difficult for the audience to see much of anything but they could hear, "TSUNADE, SHIZUNE, GET DOWN HERE NOW!" Minato shouted as he released another Fūton Jutsu to clear more of the persistent debris hanging in the air.

The two Medic nin were on the ground in moments as the arena floor finally cleared revealing the utter devastation wrought. Itachi's mud wall and the stone buildings had been utterly flattened along with what remained of the trees which by now had been reduced to cinders. The sand in the ground had been turned to glass under the immense heat giving it a slight reflective quality. The arena walls were riddled with pockmarks with a large crater on either side.

Beneath either crater was the still body of each competitor, the explosion had catapulted both of them into the wall with frightening speed. Shizune and Mikoto were immediately by Itachi's side while Kushina and Tsunade were by Tri's. Both medics' immediately set to work.

"Don't worry Mikoto-sama, he's alive." As her scan continued she began listed off injuries. "Concussion, Skull fracture, Shoulder Blade fracture, Two Broken Ribs, Internal Bleeding, Broken Finger."

Meanwhile Tsunade was doing the same for Tri, "Concussion, Fractured Eye socket, Fractured Shoulder Blade, Broken Collar Bone, Five Broken Ribs, Internal Bleeding, Cracked Pelvis."

Kumo medical teams quickly joined them both and they set to work stabilising them. And as the seconds turned into minutes both were successfully stabilised.

Genma, Hiruzen and Gai were re-joined by Kushina and Mikoto who moved to Rezano and Sasuke. "Don't worry, they'll both be ok," they reassured them. "When Naruto-chan's fight is over, we'll go see them, ok?" Kushina added, she got two mute nods in reply. "Hiruzen-sama. Why didn't you tell us Tri-chan had a Kekkai Genkai?" she inquired taking Minusha back from Genma. "Truth be told I still don't know whether he does. Nothing in his bloodwork suggests he has inherited one. But since we don't know his ancestry, it remains a possibility."

"Genma-kun, has he ever displayed something like this before?"  
"No, Gai-kun. Only Katon, Fūton and Suiton, all of which he has affinities for." Kushina was visibly shocked by Genma's words, "Three af-affinities?" Genma and Gai awkwardly looked anywhere but at her, "Did you not know that?" asked a confused Mikoto. When she didn't get a reply the Uchiha mistress continued her questions, "What about Naruto-san?"  
"He has affinities in Suiton, Doton and Fūton," Genma answered. "Doton? He has my and Minato's affinities but where has Doton come from?" Genma simply shrugged.

"You mean you've never seen him do that before?"  
"No, Fū-san, I've never seen Tri do that before, I'd never even heard of Shakuton before just now," Naruto replied still in a state of shock and awe at his teammate's display. "Can't say that's too much a surprise. Shakuton is incredibly rare, rarer than my Yoton. I've heard there's only one Shinobi in the world who has Shakuton."  
"Mm, the Suna Kunoichi called Pakura," Fū added.  
"Wait, Pakura!" Naruto exclaimed, startling Fū slightly. "You know her?"  
"Know her? I've met her.. Well kinda but her and Tri have met."

"When?" asked a somewhat intrigued Kurotsuchi. "Months ago when we were on a mission to Sunagakure. Tri already knew who she was because of her Bingo book entry."  
"So he would have known about her Shakuton Kekkai Genkai beforehand, intriguing." With that she stood from her seat and went to lean against the railing to await the Proctors call.

For nearly ten minutes the medical teams worked tirelessly getting them to a state where they could be safely moved to the hospital.

As they were stretchered away Tsunade joined Minato, A and C who were deep in conversation. "Well Tsunade-sama, will either be able to compete again?"  
"Absolutely not, while their injuries were serious, they weren't immediately life-threatening but they'll likely be in the hospital for several days at least. In addition to all their major injuries, Itachi is suffering from chakra exhaustion and Tri has numerous burns across his body. Thankfully, however, both will make full recoveries."

"That's good to hear but what happens now, Raikage-sama? We're going to have a final with only one fit competitor."  
"I don't see any other choice, C. We'll have to make the second semi-final into the actual final." Minato nodded his agreement. "Very well, I'll announce it to the crowd."

He walked to the centre of the arena. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the previous bout between Uchiha Itachi and Uzumaki Tri is to be declared a draw. In addition, neither competitor is medically able to contest the final. Subsequently the second semi-final between Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto and Kurotsuchi will now become the grand-final. We will begin momentarily."

The crowd seemed to take the news relatively well with only a few murmurs of discontent, not that they had any other choice.

As the two Kage returned to their seats and Tsunade left with the medical staff C surveyed the arena. The arena floor had been utterly flattened, the trees, buildings were all gone. A hole in the ground signifying where the pond had once been, all the water had been evaporated. C himself had jumped up the arena wall to keep himself away from their final Jutsu clash. ' _Those kids are something else, they really did a number on this place and each other. And now we're down to two._ '

"Kurotsuchi and Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, to the arena floor."  
"You gonna be alright on your own, Fū-san?" Naruto asked, Kurotsuchi having already vaulted the railing. "Yes, I'll be fine Naruto-san." He inclined his head in understanding and leapt over the railing after his final opponent.

He landed to find her already in position, staring at him, a smug looking grin plastered on her face. "What's got you so happy?" he replied with a grin of his own. "Well. How better to prove myself than by beating the son of the Namikaze Minato in the final of a Chūnin Exams." Naruto cocked his head slightly in confusion, "There's no need to prove yourself in this match, I'd say you already had."

She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to decide whether he was poking fun at her. "Besides, you're assuming you can actually beat me."

' _Ok, now he's poking fun at me_ ,' she thought. "I hope you don't get too upset being beaten by a girl," she mocked which brought another look of confusion from Naruto. "Why would that matter? Whether the Shinobi is Male or Female is irrelevant. If you beat me, it'll be because you had the better match or were simply the stronger."

Kurotsuchi couldn't think of a way to reply so Naruto did it for her. "Besides, do you think my Kaa-chan would tolerate any nonsense from Tou-san simply because of her gender. Or Tsunade-sama-sensei for that matter, anyone daft enough to try that has a very short remaining lifespan to ponder their mistake," he joked.

Kushina couldn't help but smile at her son's attitude. While sexism wasn't as major an issue as it once was, it still persisted in the attitudes of some, civilians more so than Shinobi.

"So. Are you two ready now or did you wish to continue your friendly chat?" Earning him a pair of glares from the Genin. C shook it off, "Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, ready?"  
"Hai."  
"Kurotsuchi, ready?" This time a silent nod was the reply. "Competitors ready, to the winner goes the tournament. Hajime!"

Neither wasted a fraction of a second, both flashing through hand-seals.

" **Suiton: Teppōdama**." (Water Release: Gunshot)  
" **Yoton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu**." (Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique)

The two Jutsu clashed and fell to the ground as a rapidly hardening mass but neither stopped there. " **Suiton: Teppōdama** ," another ball of water forced Kurotsuchi to roll to her left and continue rolling as Naruto fired shot after shot of high-velocity water. For each roll she made, she placed a delayed fuse smoke bomb. After her fifth roll they all detonated. The blonde soon lost his opponent in the dark cloud.

He wasn't waiting long for her counter-attack, " **Suiton: Mizurappa**." (Water Release: Water Trumpet) This time it was Naruto having to roll away from the Jutsu as the jet of water slammed into the ground he'd vacated. Kurotsuchi had jumped before firing thus claiming the high-ground even if only for a few moments. She used the time she had remaining to throw a flurry of shuriken and kunai. Naruto drew one of his tantō to block and deflect those he couldn't dodge, despite his best efforts he was still on the receiving end of one or two scratches. He took note of the smallest dribble of blood rising from the minuscule cut.

He couldn't help but chuckle, "Well, that's first blood to you." She gave him a disgustingly sweet smile, "and it won't be the last drop I spill today." Before another word could be said Naruto charged forward, tantō still in hand.

Kurotsuchi's speciality was in Ninjutsu, her bloodline lent itself incredibly well to it. And while she had a little-defined muscle mass, it was used to help her disengage from close range engagements and get distance between herself and her opponent. And that's exactly what was happening, Naruto threw punches, kicks and jabbed, slashed with his tantō and everything missed.

' _Gah, again an opponent with more agility than me_ ,' Naruto bemoaned as Kurotsuchi successfully got out of his Taijutsu range. She didn't wait before turning it back to a Ninjutsu battle again. " **Doton: Doryūsō** ," he was forced to backpedal rapidly as the phalanx of sharpened spikes made a reappearance. " **Doton: Doryūheki** ," Naruto brought the march of earthen stakes to a standstill as the mud wall halted them. He wasn't safe for long, however, as the spikes simply went around the wall forcing Naruto to jump on top of his barrier.

' _And now I'm surrounded_ ,' thought Naruto as he tried to think of a way out of his predicament. "To have a Raiton affinity right now, something to smash through the mud spik…. Oh that'd do it." He withdrew a few kunai, explosive tags attached. He threw them in the shape of an arc in front of him, the explosions blew apart the spikes caught in the blast radius. Kurotsuchi made to replace the destroyed spikes but Naruto kept casting more explosive kunai and then he jumped.

Kurotsuchi was taken aback by his leaping into the air. ' _What is he doing?_ ' she wondered. As he began to fall back to earth he pulled back his fist, ' _I can't put much power into this as I'd like but it should be enough_.' "That looks worryingly familiar," Kakashi remarked.

With the ground rapidly approaching Naruto let fly, the exact moment he connected with the ground he unleashed all the chakra built up in his fist. The effect was immediate as the ground cracked and buckled under the strain. Kurotsuchi was thrown to the ground as the previously stable earth beneath her fragmented and shook as if it an earthquake had struck. Parts collapsed while others were thrown upwards.

By the shakings end, the formerly flat terrain was covered with changes in elevation. Both Naruto and Kurotsuchi moved to claim higher ground in their own halves of the field. "The legendary technique of Senju Tsunade, impressive."  
"Thank you," Naruto grinned, "although it was an unfinished version with only a fraction of the power. The real deal does far more damage than this."

Kurotsuchi didn't speak again, she instead pulled two scrolls from the pouch on her hip. Opening both she channelled chakra into them, opening them. Water shot out of both as she cast them into the deepest parts of the arena she could find. ' _Now what are you planning?_ ' wondered an intrigued but on edge Naruto meanwhile Ōnoki was sporting a wide grin, ' _The boy has no idea_ '.

Kurotsuchi made no attempts to move thus neither did Naruto, he was still trying to figure out her plan of action as the water level began to rise. Naruto spared a moment to take in his surroundings, the chunk of rock and dirt he was stood on rose several feet higher up than any other, he'd have to move nearly 15ft to reach the next point of similar height. ' _Is she trying to trap me? Why use water if she is?_ '

He was dragged out of his thoughts by the sound of shuriken cutting through the air. He ducked under the first and jumped high into the air to dodge the rest. Seeing her chance Kurotsuchi revealed the next stage in her plan. " **Yoton: Yōkai no Jutsu** ," (Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique) she unleashed a huge stream of scolding hot lava into the air. It wasn't high enough to reach Naruto but it was wide enough to carpet almost half the arena floor. As well as covering what remained of the ground it also covered and sealed in the rising water level.

Naruto had managed to get about 25ft into the air before gravity took hold once more, pulling back towards the ground and the layer of waiting lava. With no tagged kunai left in the arena to Kawarimi with Naruto improvised, " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**." A clone popped into existence next to him, grabbing him by the arm the clone spun him around several times before letting go. Naruto flew through the air and finally found the arena side wall.

Using chakra to hold himself there he was still confused by what Kurotsuchi was doing. "First water and then lava. But they'll only cancel each other out, right?" he quietly said to himself as he watched his clone fall into the lava, immediately dispelling. He took another glance at her, she was grinning. "Well whatever her plan is, I'm still playing into it. Might be her end-game though, she's looking tired."

*Thud*

"What was that?" Naruto muttered looking around and finding nothing.

*Thud*

"There it is again, it sounds like a door slamming underground," Naruto was baffled by the sudden emergence of the noises. Then he heard the hissing. He looked down at the ground as it began contorting, rocks rising and falling.

 ***BOOM!***

Hardly a moment passed before the ground seemed to vanish in a huge explosion. Rock, lava and a huge cloud of steam were thrown into the air. It wasn't as big an explosion as in the previous match but the side of the arena Naruto found himself in was engulfed.

Kushina held her hand over her mouth at the prospect of another child being seriously injured within an hour. Minato again found himself gripping the armrests of his chair to stop himself from jumping down once more. Thankfully this time the cloud of dust cleared rather quickly revealing a crater encompassing nearly a third of the now destroyed arena. The hole was partially filled with rubble with small pools of cooling water and lava.

And standing on the edge of the crater was a battered and bloodied Naruto. He was breathing heavily, his outfit sported numerous rips, burns and singes. Even some of his hair had been singed away.

The look he was giving her was a mixture of annoyance and awe. "Whatever that was, that was awesome. What did you do?" She had just tried to blow him to pieces yet here he was excitedly asking her how she'd done it. Nevertheless she explained it to him, "I covered the rising water with lava which flash boiled it. But since the steam was trapped under the lava the pressure built and built before eventually exploding."

"Well exploding is right, damn near did a number on me."  
"Not nearly enough though, how did you escape being steam-boiled?" Naruto lightly chuckled at her question. "Truthfully I don't know, luck perhaps. Anyway your gambit seems to have failed, you're running on empty."  
"Ha! I could say the same of you," she retorted.  
"True," Naruto conceded, "However, I am an Uzumaki."

He formed the clone hand-seal, " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**." Next to him, a single clone appeared. Naruto held out his hand to the clone, the clone held both of its hands over the originals. Slowly at first a swirling blue mass sparked to life in his hand.

The gasps from across the crowd were evident and in the Kage box as Minato's eyes again attempted a bid for freedom. ' _Tsunade's Taijutsu was one thing but the Rasengan!_ ' he shouted in his head as the blue mass developed into an orb of chakra.

Kurotsuchi was mesmerised by the first of the Yondaime Hokage's two legendary techniques. Her gaze was so transfixed that she never noticed what was happening around her.

*SMACK*

Kurotsuchi was absolutely floored by something but before she could rise again she felt a blade against her throat. "What the.." Kneeling over her was another Naruto, his tantō held against her neck. A few moments later there was a light bang, she looked over in time to see the two Naruto's performing the Rasengan dispel.

"Ah great…" Kurotsuchi moaned, the realisation that she'd lost dawning on her. She sighed, "Proctor… I.. concede…" the disappointment evident in her voice. The tantō was withdrawn as Naruto placed a glowing green hand against the jaw he'd just uppercutted. She was about to complain before the words died in her throat as the pain subsided.

Both were silent for a few moments, Kurotsuchi eventually broke it, "How did you do it?"

"When your lava/ water combination went off; Very nice by the way. My being on the wall meant almost all of the explosion missed me. Under the shroud I created a clone and had it masquerade as me while I tunnelled towards you. And while you were fully focused on the Rasengan I popped up from the ground and clocked you on the jaw."  
"You mean the Rasengan was nothing more than a distraction."  
"Yep, it was a bluff too. I can't do it properly yet."  
"You what?! Your final play was a bluff?"  
"Total bluff. I've got the first two steps down but I couldn't complete the third in time for this tournament."

Kurotsuchi didn't know whether she should laugh or cry at falling for such a thing. She settled on a sombre chuckle as the pain in her jaw ceased. "You alright to walk?" he asked offering her a hand. She looked at his hand then gave him an accusing gaze. "Unless you'd like me to carry you to the hospital," he teased.

She quickly looked away as she took his hand, pulling her to her feet and as he did C officially ended the match.

"Winner by concession and winner of this year's Chūnin Exams, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto." The Konoha section exploded in cheers of celebration as the Iwa section lamented being denied victory by a Namikaze yet again. As C spoke, Naruto, still holding her hand raised their joined hands above them to renewed cheers. "I was right you know."  
"Huh?"  
"You are really interesting," he replied letting go of her hand as she again looked away, this time with a twinge of red atop her cheeks. It was then they were escorted away by the medics.

Up in another of the enclosed VIP viewing boxes a middle-aged man called his attendant to him. The attendant moved to stand next to his side and leant forward. "This one too?" the attendant inquired. The man nodded, "Hai, this one too."

"Very well, I will extend an offer at an appropriate time."

* * *

The images were garbled in the extreme, he couldn't distinguish anything with clarity. Just vague shapes with blotches of colour.

The sounds weren't any better. He could tell someone was speaking, screaming, crying? But nothing else, even the volume of whatever was transpiring was corrupted beyond his ability to decrypt.

The images while incomprehensible still held colour but even that wasn't lasting. A blinding white light, which seemingly created from nothing grew in intensity to the point where all other colours drained away to be replaced with blank nothingness.

Then it ended.

Tri groggily opened his eyes, his vision slowly refocused and adjusted to the bright light above him. ' _That dream again, it's still no clearer than any of the other times,_ ' he pondered. Tri had experienced this dream multiple times over the past two years. Each time it was the same, he couldn't clearly see or hear anything and it always ended with the bright white light which without fail woke him each and every time.

He took in the room around him. He was lying in a bed, a small bedside cabinet on one side, an IV drip on the other that led into his right arm. The walls were painted entirely a dull white except for a horizontal line of worn green about one-third of the way up the wall. The ceiling seemed like an even duller white with several long rectangular lights with slow-spinning ceiling fans in between. "Yep, I'm in a hospital," he whispered to himself.

He tried to sit up but got nowhere, the pain in his ribs flaring. "Ok then, I'm not going anywhere." He flexed his extremities, ' _Eight fingers, two thumbs, ten toes.. I think. Means my arms and legs are there._ ' Next he tried raising an arm to his head, he managed it but it was difficult, all the muscles were stiff and ached. He moved his fingers from one side of his face to the other. ' _Ok, an ear, the nose is all there, two eyes and the other ear_.' He ran his tongue around his mouth confirming all his teeth were still present.

His physical checks finished he looked back at the ceiling. "Well now what, this is really boring." It was as if Kami was listening in because the doors opened as soon as he'd finished speaking.

He tilted his head to the side as his family walked in. "Nii-chan!" squealed an excited Rezano who rushed to his brother's bedside. "Hey Imouto, have you been good for Kaa-chan?" Tri smiled. "Yeah I have!" he cheered. "Don't be too loud Rezano-chan. Itachi-san's still asleep." Kushina lightly chided her youngest son. He covered his mouth with his hand as if he'd said something rude, "Sorry Kaa-chan."

"How do you feel, Tri-chan?"  
"Terrible, Kaa-chan" Tri laughed, "Everything aches and I can barely move."  
"Tsunade-sama said you'd be like that when you woke. She and Shizune-san spent the better part of an hour pouring medical chakra into you and Itachi-san to deal with your major injuries. You really did a number on each other."

Tri took a moment to take in her words, "Wait, how long have I been out?"  
"Nearly a day," Naruto said. Everything went silent for a few moments before Naruto spoke again. "Tri, I think I speak for all of us when I ask you. Why and how do you know Shakuton?"  
"It was shortly after we graduated from the Academy. I was training my chakra control when I made a spur of the moment decision to see what would happen if I tried to meld a tiny amount of Katon and Fūton chakra together. And to my surprise it didn't immediately destabilise and blow up."

"So what happened?" asked an intrigued Minato. "It destabilised after about a second and then blew up," Tri replied with a laugh. "So you've spent the last year or so learning to control Shakuton?" the Yondaime enquired. Tri laughed heartily at his question which got him a few confused looks.

"Sorry," Tri said, "But control? I barely kept it stable. As for learning it, yes I've spent the past year practising, especially the month leading up to the tournament. But as good as my chakra control is, it wasn't something I could do alone so I sought advice from the only person in the world who could help me."  
"Who is?" Kushina asked but it was Naruto who answered. "Pakura of the Shakuton."

"When did you even have a chance to meet her?" Minato next asked, surprised he'd know such a renowned and dangerous Kunoichi, again it was Naruto who answered. "When you sent us to Sunagakure, Tou-san. We met Pakura at the village's entrance. But I heard every word of your conversation, Shakuton was never mentioned."

"The Bingo Book, Naruto."  
"You henged a shadow clone into one. You said something about it being against the rules to show a foreign Shinobi Konoha's Bingo Book." Tri's smile turned into a grin. "While that is _technically_ true, Sunagakure is an ally so such rules are for the most part suspended or ignored."

"So why did you Henge the clone then?"  
"So I could have a second conversation without anyone knowing. The first page was indeed her Bingo Book entry, the second page was a written request asking her to meet me in private at some point. She even gave me her answer without you knowing, if she'd have refused she'd have thrown the henged book back to me."  
"So that's where you disappeared to!" exclaimed an understanding Naruto.

"Yep, I asked her how she stabilises her Shakuton which helped greatly. But how we make it is totally different, she uses a Katon, Fūton mixture of 2:1 . Mine is the reverse."  
"Which is what made it so unstable, Fūton is incredibly difficult to control," added Minato. "Hai, Tou-san. When Itachi detonated his explosive tags it removed what little control I had and well, you saw what happened next."

"So who won?" the bedridden Uzumaki asked suddenly. "I did," Naruto sheepishly replied. "You don't seem to happy about it."  
"It's just, if you or Itachi had been able to contest the final, I don't think I'd have won." Tri shook his head, "Doesn't matter. In a real-world situation I and Itachi would've killed one another and you'd have still been the only one left standing at the end."  
"He's right Naruto-chan, the Chūnin Exam is unique, every other time it'll be a real combat situation," Kushina added.

"So how much longer will Tsunade-sama-sensei have me cooped up in here for?"

* * *

 **[1] Suiton: Mizurappa is actually two completely separate techniques (Water Trumpet/ Wild Water Wave). They share the same Romaji name, chakra nature and hand-seals.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 **Nypism** : Thank you for even more feedback. And yes for now Naruto will be the weakest of the three. But he has a higher potential than Tri does but Tri and Itachi will reach their's quicker. The dream's will pop up every now and then, becoming clearer over time. And I figured something out in regards to Naruto possessing Mokuton, he will have it but it'll be different from Hashirama's and Yamato's.

Overdue Words and Unforeseen Actions

* * *

Five days. That was how long Tsunade had kept Tri in what might have been the dullest room in existence. Although it wasn't as bad as Itachi who'd woken up a few hours after him and who had to spend an additional day stuck in that room.

And now another week later, the Konoha convoy was approaching the outskirts of the Village. But despite being discharged Tri and Itachi weren't permitted to return to active duties and were confined to taking it easy riding in one of the many wagons. That left Naruto alone with only his thoughts to keep him company since he was medically able to form part of the perimeter guard again.

And yet despite the time that had elapsed his mind still dragged him back to the events of the last week. Or more specifically the farewell between himself and Kurotsuchi.

 ***Flashback***

"I expect a rematch at some point," she stated firmly. "I'd be more than happy to oblige Kurotsuchi-san." He held his hand out in front of him, he only half expected her to accept so there was a slight element of surprise on his part as they shook hands.

And yet when it came time to let go, neither seemed all too inclined. They're joined hands lingered, it only lasted a moment but both noticed. Each snatching their hand back as if they were held over a flame.

 ***End Flashback***

' _Who'd of thought something so simple could be so confusing,_ ' he sighed. He quickly gave his head a shake realising he was supposed to be paying attention to his surroundings. But before long he was lost in his thoughts once more, this time it was on Tri's display of Shakuton.

Naruto had had his adoptive brother explain in detail how he'd created the chakra for it. Of course it would interest Naruto, they both had multiple chakra affinities and yet despite lacking a bloodline he was able to mould a Kekkai Genkai. And although his chakra control was greater than his own he couldn't help but wonder, ' _Perhaps I can do the same_.'

Thinking on his brother's explanations, Naruto brought his hands close together. He channelled Suiton chakra into his left hand and Doton into his right. Bringing his hands together, he manifested both chakras onto his palms and attempted to intermingle the two together.

He tried for a full minute but to no avail, whenever he tried to push his palms together, the two chakras just pushed them apart again as if they were two magnets of the same polarity. ' _Hmm, that certainly isn't working. The chakra showing no signs of coming together at all. Tri mentioned he had a similar issue and he solved it by changing the chakra mixture. He changed the chakra balance by incorporated more Fūton to bring them together._ '

He tried Doton first, increasing the amount of nature transformed chakra in his right hand and pushing his palms together once more.

Again, it had little to no effect. "Let's try decreasing the amount of Suiton chakra." He gave it a go, slowly withdrawing more and more of the chakra in his left hand and as he did his hands were pushed further apart.

"Well, that's definitely not working. Let's try the reverse," he muttered as he increased the flow to his left hand while withdrawing from the right. As the mixture returned to around 50/50 his hands closed on one another. And as the Suiton portion increased his hands drew still closer together.

Then he felt it. It lasted only a split second as he was still changing the chakra make-up. He immediately stopped and very slowly reversed the flow of Suiton. It took nearly a minute to find that sweet spot again but when he did he could feel the difference. It felt as if the Suiton and Doton chakras melded if only momentarily before destabilising with a barely audible pop.

Naruto allowed himself a small smile, ' _Perhaps there is something to work with after all._ ' Over the next five minutes he tried to learn to quickly find that sweet spot but he managed it no quicker than thirty to forty seconds. "Seems I'll need to work on improving my chakra control if I'm going to get anywhere with this."

"It will have to wait until tomorrow, however," Naruto added. The great wall that surrounded Konoha was now in sight. The blonde let out another smile, ' _It's good to be home._ '

* * *

 **-The following morning – Hokage's Office-**

"I'd like to formally congratulate our three finalists on their performances that saw all of them reach the final four and further congratulations to Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto for winning the Chūnin Exams."  
"Arigatou, Hokage-sama," the three replied in unison. "I, the clan heads and village elders convened earlier this morning to put to vote whether any of you are ready to be Chūnin." The three mutely nodded in understanding.

The Hokage and three Genin were joined in the office by a collection of family members and several clan heads.

"Uchiha Itachi, step forward," Minato ordered to which he duly obliged. "Uchiha Itachi, the vote determined that you meet the required standard of a Konoha Chūnin. Thusly I as Hokage hereby promote you to the rank of Chūnin and all the responsibilities and privileges pertained." Minato withdrew a Flak Jacket from a storage scroll and handed it to Genma who in turn presented it to Itachi who accepted and stepped back with a bow.

"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, step forward." Naruto did as asked and Minato continued speaking. "Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, the vote determined that you meet the required standard of a Konoha Chūnin. Thusly I as Hokage hereby promote you to the rank of Chūnin and all the responsibilities and privileges pertained." Naruto also received his Flak Jacket before too stepping back.

"Uzumaki Tri, Step forward." After he had done so, Minato repeated himself again. "Uzumaki Tri, the vote determined that you meet the required standard of a Konoha Chūnin. Thusly I as Hokage hereby promote you to the rank of Chūnin and all the responsibilities and privileges pertained." Just like his teammates he took ownership of a Flak Jacket. Unlike the other two, however, Tri immediately donned his after sealing his cloak away.

"Congratulations to the three of you. Now Tsunade-sama says you'll in need of a break. So you will begin your duties as Chūnin from the beginning of next week." The three bowed as the ceremony came to an end.

The two brothers found themselves near crushed in a bear hug courtesy of Kushina while Mikoto placed a gentle hand on Itachi's shoulder.

Minato meanwhile turned to Shizune, "Shizune-san, can you take Minusha-chan and Rezano-chan."  
"Hai, Hokage-sama." With Minusha already in her arms, she began to lead Rezano out as Kushina stood again. "Thank you Shizune-san, I'll try to be back as soon as I can." She got a silent nod in reply as they left the room, Mikoto also left with Itachi closing the door behind them.

With them gone and everyone else having already left it left just the four remaining members of the Hokage family and Hiruzen. Minato sat in his chair with Kushina moving to his side while Hiruzen stood off to the side. Naruto and Tri remained in front of the Hokage's desk.

The blonde Hokage took a deep breath followed by a deep sigh. "Well we know why we're here so let's get straight to the point."  
"Where would you like to start, Tou-san?" Naruto asked, his voice carrying a cold edge. Minato sighed again, "Let's go from the beginning, when did it start?"  
"About six months after Tri's adoption. We know you both lead busy lives but you still made time when you could to help with our training even if it was only the odd hour here or there."

Naruto took a moment to compose himself, with each word, more and more of the bottled up emotion broke through. "But then Jiraiya returned for one of his occasional whatever they are, immediately after that visit, things changed. After that you stopped asking how we were getting on with our training and when we asked for help or advice you'd push us off onto others."

"For Taijutsu and physical conditioning we went to Gai-sensei or Tsunade-sama-sensei. For chakra control training we went to Shizune-chan. Hiruzen-sama-sensei for Ninjutsu. Admittedly you don't know enough about Medical Ninjutsu to teach it so no problem there."

Tri picked up where Naruto left off. "And while you started me on Fūinjutsu Tou-san, you taught or assisted me with nothing beyond Level 2. From then on it was either Hiruzen-sama-sensei or a Fūinjutsu book or scroll provided by the same person. The basic Fūinjutsu Naruto learnt was taught to him by me."

By now Minato's face wore a sombre look while one of Kushina's hands had curled up into a fist, tightly gripping her dress as the moisture built up in her eyes. "Naruto, do you mind if I step out for a minute, I have something in mind that'll better display what we're trying to explain," Tri asked. A nod from the blonde was followed by a Shunshin.

Looking to keep the talk going, Minato moved onto another question. "You said Hiruzen-sama taught you Ninjutsu, does that mean he taught you elemental Ninjutsu too?"  
"Both yes and no. To begin with we taught ourselves elemental Ninjutsu, especially to begin with. After we'd learnt to mould nature transformed chakra we sought out our sensei to help guide us from then on."

"How old were you both when you learn nature manipulation?" Kushina asked in a quiet voice, a small part of her not wanting to know the answer. The shame and guilt building with each question answered. "Seven, shortly after we met Itachi for the first time. You really need better seals in your library Tou-san. You'd be amazed at how quickly Tri was able to bypass all the security seals protecting the important scrolls... Well except the one behind the hidden compartment in your desk. The contents of which I can likely guess."

Minato flinched for the briefest of moments before recovering. That compartment held the composition and design of the one Jutsu he and Konoha absolutely could not afford to fall into the hands of a foe. "This is how you learnt the Rasengan then?"  
"Hai, I needed an ace card for the finals. Itachi had his eyes, I thought Tri's ace card would be his Fūinjutsu, which I guess it was in a sense but I had no idea he was working on combining chakra natures."

Naruto briefly thought back to his little discovery yesterday. He quickly pushed those thoughts aside as a question he wanted to ask came to mind.

"Tou-san, going back to the Rasengan scroll for a moment, you wrote that you'd been unable to apply a nature transformation to the technique." Minato nodded, "Yeah, as you'll have found out, the Rasengan is difficult to keep stable in its base form. Attempting to apply nature transformed chakra make it even more complicated."  
"I presume you tried to apply Fūton to it?" Naruto inquired. Minato again nodded at his correct leap of logic.

"How long did it take you to learn the first two steps, Naruto-kun?" a deeply interested Hiruzen asked. "The first step took nearly a week. I only completed it after experimented by swirling water around in a sink, before then it had never occurred to me to swirl the water or chakra in multiple directions."

He took a breath before continuing. "The second step I found really easy, my chakra control is good enough that applying power was rather simple. The third step, however, I'm stuck on. Applying the first two steps together really taxes on my concentration and even when using a clone to split the strain I'm still struggling."

Minato silently listened to Naruto detail his learning of his own personal technique. A technique up until now only he and Jiraiya knew. "I presume Tri-kun will be learning the Rasengan before long too?"  
"I would imagine so Tou-san. There isn't much left in yours and Kaa-chan's library that he hasn't learnt."

There was silence for a brief moment before Hiruzen spoke again. "Naruto-kun. How talented would you say Tri-kun is?" The other three in the room were surprised by the question posed but nonetheless Naruto thought about it a few moments. "I believe you have seen the results of his chakra medical?" At the Sandaime's nod he continued. "And what was the assessment?"  
"The assessment stated that he possessed the potential of an S-Rank shinobi. And I'm inclined to agree with the findings too and Tsunade-sama is rarely wrong in matters such as these."  
"Then you have my answer, Hiruzen-sama-sensei."

Again the room was silent before this time Kushina broke the silence. "If Tri-chan has an S-Rank potential then what about you Naru-chan? I know he had said several times that you have the greater potential."  
"Yes he has although I'm still unsure whether I agree with him."  
"Why do you say that?" Minato asked.

It wasn't Naruto who answered but a returning Tri. "Because despite Naruto having the greater potential he's never been able to decisively beat me in a one on one spar. My strengths work two-fold against him, countering his strengths and accentuating his weaknesses. My speed counters his Taijutsu and Kinjutsu which are his strongest fields while my Ninjutsu is far more advanced than his. Because of this, he doubts himself."

Under his arm were what looked like two books but he continued speaking before anyone could draw attention to them. "Yet despite that and despite the steeper development curves I and Itachi have shown I still regard Naruto as having a higher developmental ceiling."

"Very well, I believe all that needed to be said has been Naruto-kun." Understanding his statement, Naruto inclined his head in a slight bow before shunshining away. The elder Sarutobi turned to Tri. "Tri-kun, how talented would you say Naruto-kun is?" Tri's answer came quicker than Naruto's. "Exceptionally so. You've seen his assessments from his chakra medical, I see nothing that suggests he won't met the S-Rank potential estimate that Tsunade-sama-sensei gave him."

With his piece said Tri stepped forward, retrieving the books from under his arms. With one in each hand he held them out to his parents. "I feel these better elaborate on what we have said today. But before you open them, know that Naruto and myself still love you both."

With that, he too shunshined out of the Hokage's office. "I'll depart too, this is something only the two of you should see. ANBU." Instantly the ANBU member that was always present in an unseen corner of the room appeared in front of him. "Hai, Sandaime-sama," spoke the Shinobi wearing a Lion mask.

"You're leaving with me too, Lion." The ANBU only nodded before vanishing again.

After Hiruzen had closed the door behind him Minato opened the book Tri had given him to find pictures of Naruto. Minato smiled as he looked through the pictures in Naruto's baby book. From a picture of a heavily pregnant Kushina to a new-born Naruto held in her arms to his first five birthdays, the days he learnt to walk and talk.

Then it ended. After his fifth birthday there was nothing. ' _Why would a page be left blank?_ ' But turning to the next page, it too was blank and the one after that. The smile Minato had worn while going through the pictures faded away, replaced by the same sombre look from earlier. That's when he heard Kushina next to him trying to hold back choking sobs.

Minato was immediately at her side. In her hands she also held a picture book. The only problem was it was empty. The only thing to see in the entire book was a few words on the very first page 'The day we adopted Tri **'**.

They had bought the book in preparation for Tri officially becoming a member of their family and for some reason, they'd never taken the picture. Minato couldn't prevent the tears that came to his eyes. ' _Birthdays, joining and graduation from the academy, becoming Genin. So much has been missed but no more!_ ' Minato thought defiantly.

He wrapped his arms around Kushina and held her close as her tears came unabated, comforting her as best he could. "W-we failed them, M-Minato," she managed to say. Minato didn't say anything, what could he say? He only held her closer.

They stayed like that for hours, the tears had long since run out. Now they were both leaning against Minato's desk staring out of the window as the sun began descending in the sky signalling the change from late afternoon to early evening.

"I suppose we'd best go home, Rezano-chan will be wondering where we are," Kushina said. "Ok, Kimi." His voice as well as hers was still melancholic. "We are never going to fail them li….."

Kushina was interrupted as the door burst open and a pair of ANBU rushed into the room. "Hokage-sama, Kushina-sama. There's been an incident just outside the Nara compound. Your son Tri is in the hospital in serious condition."

The ANBU had barely finished speaking before he was greeted by a yellow flash that left only him and his fellow ANBU in the room.

* * *

 **-The Hospital-**

Minato quickly pulled open the door leading him and Kushina into a room with two beds. On the end of one bed sat a sorrowful Itachi and in the other was Tri. He was linked up to blood bags and had a mask over his face to help him breathe, Tsunade was by his bedside. "Don't worry, he's out of immediate danger," she reassured them.

"What happened? Kushina desperately asked. Tsunade pointed towards Itachi, "It's best you ask Itachi-kun. I missed most of what occurred."

Seeing the sadness written all over his face Kushina sat down next to him and placed an arm around his shoulders. He had a number of scrapes and cuts across his arms and face. "Itachi-kun?" Minato asked softly.

The young boy looked up, "Uchiha Shisui is dead."

Minato and Kushina were stunned into silence. During the silence Minato noticed the vial in Itachi's hands. It looked like a transparent glass storage jar, it was filled to the brim with a slightly greenish liquid. There was only one thing inside the jar. "Itachi-kun, is that an eye?"  
"H-hai Hokage-sama, it's Shisui's left eye."  
"I extracted Shisui's remaining eye at his request," Tsunade said. "Remaining eye? What happened to the other one?" Kushina asked. "It was stolen from him, by the time I arrived his right eye was already missing so I don't know who took it."

"So Tri-kun was there before you? Does he know who took it?" questioned Minato. "Hai, he was already seriously wounded and Shisui-kun was mortally wounded by the time I'd arrived. I don't know whether he knows who took Shisui's other eye."  
"Tsunade?" Minato inquired of the Sannin. "Shisui-san suffered multiple serious stab wounds to his chest and limbs. Tri-kun only suffered one injury, the artery in his left wrist was cut open. From what I can gather he fought on for several minutes while bleeding out before Itachi arrived."

"Were you able to see who attacked you, Itachi?"  
"No, they wore masks so I couldn't see their faces. But the outfits looked like what an ANBU would wear." Minato furrowed his eyebrows. "Itachi-kun, were any of the bodies of your attackers get recovered?"  
"No, when they died the bodies burst into flames leaving only ash," Itachi replied. The Yondaime closed his eyes and clenched his fist as he whispered in a voice laced with venom, "Danzo."

Tsunade chose then to butt in to stop Minato from flying off the handle. "I believe Tri-kun is now out of immediate danger." Much to the relief of the two parents present. "Already?" Kushina wondered aloud. "How can he no longer be in a serious condition already?"

"When I arrived Tri was on the brink of blacking out due to blood loss. Shisui saved him with his final act. He informed me of their compatible blood types and had me transfuse what blood he had left into Tri. After sealing the wound I performed the procedure. It was enough to keep Tri going until I could get him here," she explained.

As Tsunade finished talking the door opened again as Mikoto rushed in and a few steps behind her was a serious-faced Hiruzen. The previous Hokage moved to Minato's side while Mikoto hurried to her eldest sons. After allowing her to see her son was ok Hiruzen had Minato recount what had happened. Just before he did, however, he noticed Itachi had hidden the vial containing Shisui's eye.

The room was silent for several minutes as Minato finished bringing them up to speed. A silence only broken by the beeping of the heart rate monitor tied attached to Tri.

"Tsunade-sama, is Itachi-chan ok to go home?" Mikoto asked. "Yes, his injuries are only superficial." She stood them both up and bid them farewell as they departed.

They waited for almost a full minute after she'd left before Hiruzen turned to Minato. "You know what might happen with Shisui-kun now gone?" Minato nodded mournfully.

Shisui had in effect been his double agent inside the Uchiha clan for several years. He had informed him some time ago of the growing discontent from elements within the clan and had since been leveraging his influence to stop it spreading any further. But not that Shisui now gone…

"Might we have to enact the final sanction," Minato said to nobody in particular. "For the sake of the village, we may have to. But Shisui's death will be covered in a cloud of uncertainty. The rebellious elements within the Clan will have to move slowly. To move quickly now would risk them being seen as Shisui's killers. It gives us time, perhaps several years to find another way."

* * *

 **-A short time later-**

Itachi sat unmoving on the edge of his bed, the events of the night replaying over and over in his mind. Rolling the glass jar in his hands, the three tomoe staring back at him. Itachi lifted his head to gaze into the mirror opposite him. This time it wasn't three tomoe that stared back at him but instead three spiralling curves around a red pupil.

* * *

End Chapter

Not much more than a filler chapter today. Tied up one or two story elements whilst beginning some more. There'll be one more filler chapter before the next time skip which'll take us to the beginning of canon.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

 **Nypism** : By all means my friend, keep throwing the ideas around, it's much appreciated. As for detailing their experiences among the Shugonin Jūnishi, you'll have to settle for references with the odd flashback, some of the events mould their personalities so I want to leave a veil of mystery around them, I may do a spin-off story in future detailing their experiences though. Furthermore this is something you'll have to grow accustomed to unfortunately, a style in my writing is I detail events but don't explain or elaborate on them until further down the line. There are already several examples in the 16 chapters I've written.

New Opportunities

* * *

The weather had been dreary for nearly a fortnight now. It seemed as if it had been raining non-stop since Shisui died, at least that's what Naruto thought, it certainly felt like it.

Naruto sighed as he closed the front door of his home and stepped out into the pouring rain. Naruto's outfit of black three quarters and a black shirt with mesh underneath both had been joined by the Flak Jacket.

It was the start of his second week as a Chūnin and following a piece of advice given to him by Kakashi he was heading for what was commonly referred to as the 'Chūnin check-in Station'. As one might be able to discern from the name it was the Chūnin equivalent of the Jōnin standby station except for one major difference.

It was standing at three stories, much bigger than the Jōnin standby station as was to be expected, there were after all far more serving Chūnin than Jōnin. Correspondence intended for serving Chūnin was delivered to and disseminated from the structure. Kakashi's advice had been to check for any correspondence at least once a week.

Thankfully for Naruto, given the miserable weather. The building wasn't too far from home, a five-minute walk that could be made in about thirty seconds if he moved as a shinobi, not a civilian.

He dropped down from the rooftops, landing in front of the double-doored entrance. Pulling one of them open he stepped inside. Inside was a lobby with the main reception desk, behind which was a flight of stairs. To the right was the Lounge, an open, relaxed space where Shinobi could be away from the civilian population and meet friends/ colleagues.

To the left, however, was Naruto's destination. Passing through another door brought him to the 'Correspondence office'. It was a small enclosed room, in reality it was the boxed in corner of a much larger room. There were hip high counters manned by retired shinobi. Glass stretched from the countertops to the ceiling except for small gaps the mail could be passed through.

The rest of the large room was given over to row upon row of partitioned shelves. Each small partition bearing the name of an active Konoha Chūnin. It meant there were thousands of partitions that had to be constantly updated as Genin were promoted, Chūnin promoted to Jōnin, retired or passed away.

"Ah Naruto-san. Just the young man I had hoped to see today," a voice called out from the other side of the glass window. "Yo Aya-san," the blonde replied, greeting the woman behind the counter. He had met her last week and she'd quickly given him the low down on the correspondence office despite him not having any mail to pick up last week.

Aya was an elderly woman, a former Kunoichi many years retired. Her once auburn hair had for the most part turned grey and she walked with the slightest of limps, the result of an injury sustained years earlier Naruto had heard. All in all she was a cheery woman always carrying a smile with her.

"I'm glad you're here Naruto-san. Something arrived for you this morning," she said before turning and disappearing into the maze of shelves. She was gone for several minutes before finally returning to stand in front of her counter. "Here we are," she said, sliding a single letter under the glass. The letter was sealed in a sand brown envelope with the Kanji symbol for fire emblazoned on the front.

"You'll need to sign for it since it's an official letter and not regular mail," she added, sliding a small but formal looking piece of paper and a pen to him. He picked up the pen and signed before passing both back. "Arigatou, Aya-san," he replied throwing up a hand in farewell as he headed for the door once more.

Aya's regular smile changed to a grin. There was only one reason a regular Shinobi would receive correspondence like this. "You've impressed the right people Naruto-san and at your age too," she said to herself before returning to her duties.

At least she would have if she hadn't remembered something. "Oh, Naruto-san," she shouted after him. "Yes?" he replied poking his head back around the door. "If you see your brother, tell him to stop by, there's something in his inbox too."  
"Ok, thanks Aya-san."

The rain had lessened to a light drizzle as Naruto stepped back outside, turning the sealed envelope over and over in his hands. ' _I wonder what this could be. It certainly looks official with the emblem for Hi no Kuni on the top corner and the wax seal on the back. Only one way to find out._ '

He sat himself down on a bench in a park only a couple buildings away. Thankfully the benches were dry under a simple pagoda. Breaking the wax seal he withdrew a letter held within, opening it up he began reading.

* * *

 _Dear Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto_

 _I hope this letter finds you well and in good health. I am writing to you today to inform and extend to you an opportunity on behalf of my and your liege, the Daimyō of Hi no Kuni. An opportunity few Shinobi are ever offered._

 _The Daimyō of Hi no Kuni extends to you the opportunity to don the sash and join the Shugonin Jūnishi (Guardian Shinobi Twelve)._

 _Should you choose to accept, your duties would include defending the Daimyō of Hi no Kuni and his family as well as undertake any assignments the Daimyō might set you. You would gain experience quite unlike that you'd find in Konoha as well as make acquaintances that may benefit you in future. You would also have access to a substantial armoury and extensive training facilities._

 _In addition you'll be paid handsomely and on a set regular basis._

 _Understand that this offer will only be made once should you decline. Understand also that only the most talented are offered this chance, that you are so young should only serve to impress upon you how much you've impressed the Daimyō._

 _Should you accept you will be bound to the Shugonin Jūnishi for a minimum term of four years with the opportunity to extend should you and the Daimyō wish._

 _Whether you accept or decline please ensure that your answer reaches us with all possible haste. And should you accept we would ask you arrive to begin your term no later than the first day of next month._

 _We look forward to hearing from you soon._

 _Sincerely:_

 _Takuro Yazawa – Chief administrator_

* * *

' _Join the Guardian Twelve. Not what I was expecting_ '. Naruto placed the letter back inside the envelope and stared out across the park, the drizzle continuing to fall.

The only sounds were the light tapping of the rain on the pagoda's roof and the pitter patter as it dripped off the roof onto the ground. The streets were practically abandoned thanks to the mid-morning rain.

"I only know one person in Konoha who I can ask about this," he quietly said to himself. "It could take ages to find him though. The letter said I'd start at the beginning of next month which is three weeks away and it only takes about a day to reach the capital. So there's time yet to think this through yet."

Deciding to put to one side for the moment he started a chakra control exercise he had devised with Tri's help. Most forms of chakra control involved kneading it in the stomach and expelling it from the mouth. Only Raiton didn't follow this formula, instead sending chakra to the hands and kneading it there.

And that's what this exercise entailed, kneading chakra in his hands, more specifically Suiton and Doton chakra. It would provide him greater control and a wider range of uses for his nature transformed chakra.

After Tri had woken he had been confined to a hospital bed yet again for a couple days, giving him plenty of time to provide Naruto with advanced chakra control exercises. They were already having a tangible effect, the time needed to find that sweet spot had already decreased to around twenty seconds. His ability to maintain the merged chakra had also improved ever-so slightly.

As the rest of the morning went by the weather continued to improve. The rain had ceased as midday approached and the sun was just breaking through the clearing clouds. Naruto was about to stand and grab some lunch when he was joined on the bench.

"A rather sorry morning, eh, Naruto-kun."  
"Hai, Hiruzen-sama-sensei, the weather has been miserable of late. Seems to be clearing though thankfully. The village is somewhat lacking in training fields protected from the elements." The Sandaime chuckled, "There is little more distracting to one's training than water running down your back."

"So how are you, Naruto-kun?"  
"Ok, I guess. I believe I've come to terms with Shisui's death." Hiruzen nodded in understanding, "Yes, coming to terms with the first death of someone close to you is always difficult. All Shinobi live in hope that they won't have to bury friends or family they personally know."

"Shinobi who haven't buried a loved one has only done so because they have already been buried," Naruto replied, quoting a Shinobi from the second Shinobi world war whose name had been lost to time. "Ah, the nameless Shinobi. Isn't it strange that that quote is known across the elemental nations but almost nothing is known about the Shinobi who first said it."  
"Nothing? But hidden villages keep meticulous documentation on their Shinobi don't they?"  
"Yes they do," Hiruzen replied. "The unconfirmed story is that the Shinobi was an Amegakure nin who's records were either lost or destroyed. It makes sense given Amegakure was devastated during the second Shinobi world war."

The plight of the people of Amegakure during the second world war was one of the greatest tragedies in the era of the elemental nations. The minor nation was unfortunate in its location, it shared a land border with Konoha, Sunagakure and Iwagakure. The civilian population suffered horrendously as Konoha, Iwa, Ame and Suna all clashed within it's borders.

"Ironic really, isn't it?" Naruto murmured. "It is, but I get the feeling that there is something else on your mind." Naruto silently smiled, "Ever the perspective one, eh," he replied withdrawing the envelope from a storage seal and showing it the elderly Shinobi.

"Ah, I see. Not even a teenager yet you've been offered the sash that surprising few accept." Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Really?"  
"Oh yes, you'd be surprised how many have turned it down. You father turned it down, all be it the third world war was raging at the time. All three Sannin refused more than thirty years ago, Kakashi-kun refused too, there are a few others whose names escape me as well."

"Were you not offered the sash?" Naruto inquired. "You know, I've pondered that over the years and I couldn't help but wonder whether the Daimyō never got the opportunity to offer it to me. The second world war raged and when it ended the Nidaime had named me the Sandaime and that was that."  
"Should I accept it?" Naruto asked. Hiruzen placed a hand on his shoulder, "That's a question only you can answer but I do think it is a fantastic opportunity for you to develop into a fearsome Shinobi. The difference in Asuma-kun before he left and when he returned is vast, being one of the twelve made him."

"May I see the letter, Naruto-kun?" Naruto pulled the letter from the envelope and handed it to Hiruzen. Opening it, he quickly scanned through the text. "You've got a week or two to think it over going by the timeline they've given you. You've time to seek the advice of others."  
"That reminds me, is Asuma-san in the village?" Naruto asked with a lick of his fingers. Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, he's at the Sarutobi compound for today at least," he replied, handing the letter back.

Taking the letter back he stood up. "Thank you, Hiruzen-sama-sensei. I'll pay him a visit later but first I need to find Tri, good day." With a wave he was off, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He had a feeling his brother would be where he had always been since Tsunade had released him from the hospital.

* * *

- **Training Ground 47** -

Training ground 47, one of the near-forgotten fields that were hardly used. It was one of the several fields located near to Training Ground 44 or the 'Forest of Death' to give its nickname. It meant it was perfect for those who preferred to undertake their training relatively undisturbed. Perfect for Uzumaki Tri, although today he wasn't continuing his own training but instead assisting another with theirs.

"Better," he complimented as she continued to dodge and weave her way through the flurries of shuriken and kunai he was throwing. Her only reply was a weary thumbs up as they drew breathe. A few small cuts dotted across her arms and legs.

All the trees had bits of bark missing with stacks of leaves piled up at the base of many and small branches littered the ground. Haruno Sakura thought she had a moment to get her breath back. She'd been running, jumping and rolling her way around TG-47 all morning. She was unfortunately mistaken as her senses told her to duck.

As she did she felt something whistle over where her head had just been. She opened her eyes to see a few strands of her pink hair fall to the ground, ' _Jeez, that was close_ '. "Excellent, Sakura-san. Your sixth sense is developing nicely."

They had spent the last few days developing that unspoken skill that all Shinobi had to learn. The ability to simply know when something is being thrown at you or someone is watching you. "We'll take a break now and cont…" he started to say before cutting himself off. Although he didn't turn his head Sakura could see his eyes looking behind him as best they could.

With a quick flick of the wrist several shuriken shot towards a tree behind him off to the left. Each Shuriken was met by another shuriken. Each cancelled the other out as all the shuriken fell to the ground. A figure shunshined from the tree to the ground. "I hope you were watching Sakura-san, that was a perfect example of sixth sense from Tri," Naruto stated, trying his best to sound like Daikoku-sensei.

Tri gave a small mirthful smile while simultaneously shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "Hi, Naruto-san," Sakura greeted, getting a wave in reply. "What can I do for you Naruto. It's not often you come this far out without reason."  
"I was asked to tell you that you've got mail at the Chūnin check-in station." Tri's face lit up slightly in remembrance, "Yeah, Kakashi-kun mentioned something about checking that regularly."

The Uzumaki thought a moment, "Well I'll have to go get it now since I leave on a mission tomorrow. We can get something to eat while we're in town too, coming Sakura-san?"  
"Uh, um," she tried to reply which made Naruto raise an eyebrow. "I don't have any money," she finally said, causing Tri to raise an eyebrow as well before he replied. "Ah, don't worry about that, I'll pay for you but first we may want to pick all these up," he motioned with his arm to bring attention to the dozens of shuriken and kunai dotted around the training field.

Picking them up between the three of them didn't take long and within a few minutes they were heading back to the village. "What mission did you pull, Tri?"  
"Same as you had last week, patrol duty, northern interior route." Naruto laughed, "Many days of boredom await you then."  
"So I've heard," Tri muttered.

"What do you mean by Interior?" Sakura asked. "Because of the size of Hi no Kuni's land borders and size in general, patrols are layered, they're called Interior and Exterior. Exterior patrols are formed of experienced Chūnin and Jōnin. While Interior patrols are squads made of inexperienced Chūnin led by an experienced Chūnin," Naruto explained.

"And because almost every potential problem is dealt with by the exterior patrols it means the Interior patrols are notoriously dull," Tri added. "Dull is right, three days of counting trees for me last week with another three days from the day after tomorrow. Easy C-Rank pay though which becomes B-Rank if anything remotely interesting happens. And you're paid by the day."

They reached the outside of the Chūnin check-in station. "Well I got five days instead of the three you drew last week. Oh well," Tri sighed, "At least it isn't the southern patrol," he added before pulling open the door and stepping inside.

* * *

- **A week later** -

Itachi's mind had been split down the middle with a single question dominating his thoughts for near enough a full week, Should I? Shouldn't I? He'd asked a few of those close to him, although strangely enough neither of his former Genin teammates were amongst them.

Right now he was heading for the Hokage's tower, he'd requested a meeting with the Hokage to discuss his options. He was glad he'd made it back in time, he'd returned from his patrol assignment not an hour earlier. They'd come across a trade caravan that had barely avoided a landslide and had assisted them in repairs and clearing the trail of rocks and debris. It had delayed their return by half a day.

Ascending the stairs he was quickly ushered through by the Hokage's secretary and opening the door, he entered the office from which Konohagakure was run.

"Ah Itachi-san, please come in," Minato called over to the young Uchiha. Itachi looked around to see both Naruto and Tri were also present. Minato caught his raised eyebrow and headed off the question that would inevitably follow. "They both had matters they wished to discuss with me so I decided to deal with all three of you at once."

Itachi nodded his understanding and moved to stand next to them. A quick glance around confirmed to him that Kushina, Hiruzen, Asuma and his mother Mikoto were also present. His eye's narrowed slightly, ' _Does Hokage-sama know the reason I asked to meet with him?_ '

"Now since you asked first, you may speak first Itachi."  
"Arigatou, Hokage-sama. At the beginning of last week I received a letter that extended to me an offer that interests me greatly. Should I accept the offer it would see me depart Konoha for several years and I wished to make you aware of the matter."  
"You've been offered a position within the Guardian twelve?" Minato questioned. "Hai, Hokage-sama."  
"Have you consulted anyone else over this?"

Itachi was silent a moment. "Hai, I have spoken to several people close to me, including my father."  
"And what was his attitude on the matter?"  
"He was not supportive, Hokage-sama." The tone of Itachi's voice was blunt and bitter. "However, I find his introverted, narrow-minded attitude tiresome. So I've disregarded his thoughts and opinions on the matter."

Mikoto quietly gasped at Itachi's outburst as did a few others, it was rare indeed that he spoke out in such a manner. It was also the first time the canyon-sized difference of opinion between father and son had been shown in public, all be it only to an audience numbering less than ten.

"You wish to take the sash Itachi-san?"  
"Hai, Hokage-sama, I do."  
"Have you informed the Daimyō?"  
"No, I will dispatch my reply when we are done here."  
"Very well then, we'll move onto you next, Naruto-kun."

Itachi took a step back as Naruto stepped forward. "Hokage-sama, funnily enough the reason I asked to meet with you officially is the same as Itachi's. And while I have already consulted Hiruzen-sama-sensei and Asuma-san, I wish to know your and Kaa-chan's opinion."

"Why do you wish to know my and Kushina's opinions?"  
"Apart from the fact that you're my parents, you can provide opinions that encompass my home life. If I were to accept, I would be gone for four years. Four years without seeing you, four years without looking out for Rezano-kun and Minusha-chan."  
"Truthfully Naruto, decisions such as these require the suspension of personal feelings. This decision will shape your professional career, so you should only make it with a professional mindset. But if you wish to know my thoughts then so be it but first, a question. Do you wish to become Hokage in the future?"

Naruto was taken aback by his question, he hadn't been expected it so he was quiet as he thought on his answer. "I have not made a final decision but I believe that in the years to come I will seek to succeed you," Naruto replied in a tone that was somewhat lacking in confidence.

"I asked because if you do then you should absolutely go. Your time in the capital would allow you to make friends with the right people that would make your time as Kage much easier politically. Hiruzen-sama can attest to the benefits of having friends in the right places, having an ally in the Daimyō himself is just a bonus."

The Daimyō of Hi no Kuni was still relatively new to the role having assumed the role following his father's abdication in the aftermath of the events that saw fully half of the Shugonin Jūnishi attempt a Coup D'état. By the end of which only two of the original twelve remained to serve the Daimyō. The first, a Monk from the Fire Temple named Chiriku, the second was one Sarutobi Asuma.

Since assuming the role, the new Daimyō had already championed and passed several forward-thinking reforms in an effort to modernize Hi no Kuni's bureaucratic institutions and create closer ties between the capital and the hidden village and come down hard on corruption and inefficiency. The changes had made him popular with both the people of the capital and the leaders of Konoha, a powerful combination.

Naruto nodded to his father and turned to his mother. "Kaa-chan?" Looking at her, he could tell she was downhearted at the prospect of losing her son to the capital for four years. But she gave him a weak smile, "I'd hate not having you her where I know your safe and I'd hate missing four years of your life especially when I've already missed so much, but… But by the laws of the Shinobi, you're an adult now and truthfully I regret not taking the sash when it was offered to me."

Everyone except Minato was surprised by her admission. "Kushina-sama, I never knew they had made you the offer too," Hiruzen exclaimed. She gave another weak smile, "Yes, it was early during the third world war but I turned it down. I only ever told Minato-kun." He gave his mother a supportive smile before turning to Mikoto. "I wasn't expecting you to be here Mikoto-sama, but nonetheless I'd welcome any thoughts you may have. The Uchiha chuckled but answered. "Like Kushina-chan here I'd loathe losing my son for four years but it would comfort me greatly to know one of his closest friends and companions is there to watch his back."

"Arigatou Mikoto-sama." Turning back to face his father, "Hokage-sama, I too would like to accept the offer to become one of the twelve." Minato nodded, "And that leaves you Tri, what's it going to be?" he asked with a grin.

"You knew didn't you, none of us told you what we wished to be here for today but you knew regardless," Tri light-heatedly accused. "Yep," the blonde Kage laughed, "Whenever the Daimyō extends an offer to one of my Shinobi, a notice is also forwarded to me informing me of their offer and to whom."

"Wait. Tri, did you know why I and Itachi were here before we'd even said a word?" Naruto asked. Another laugh, "Of course I did, after all, the same offer was extended to me." As he finished speaking, there was a puff of smoke as something appeared in his hand. The clearing of the smoke revealed an envelope identical to the one Naruto had. Identical to the one Itachi had.

"Make that three out of three Hokage-sama, I too accept the Daimyō's offer."

The discussion continued for a few minutes more as they tied up any other loose ends. With their collective meeting at an end, most of those present departed, except Tri.

"Hokage-sama, there's one more matter I'd like to discuss with you, _privately_." There was a little added venom to the word 'privately'. "Ok, Tri-kun, go ahead," Minato replied with a sigh after the door had shut leaving only the two of them. "I wanted to ask whether there had been any movement in regards to the events surrounding Shisui's death.

Minato sighed again, this was one conversation he wasn't going to enjoy.

* * *

- **The day of departure** -

The three young Chūnin were assembled at the main gate alongside those who had come to bid them farewell. Tri and Itachi were saying their goodbyes to their families as Naruto talked to his father.

"Remember Naruto-kun, while you have no bounties over your head.. Yet. The three of you are still listed in most of the elemental nations Bingo Books as Shinobi of Interest. So be wary when publically displaying your abilities, it has ways of finding its way back to other villages. The more they know, the less an advantage you'll have."  
"Thank you, Tou-san. I'll keep it in mind while Tri and Itachi are rather secretive anyway," Naruto said, taking his father's advice on board. Looking back over towards his two comrades, Itachi was talking to his younger brother whilst Tri was fussing Minusha.

Turning back to his father, they shared a rare embrace. "Be safe and remember to write, your mother will worry if you don't."  
"Will do, Tou-san."

"Remember to be good for Kaa-chan, ok, Sasuke-kun," Itachi asked of his younger sibling. "I will Nii-chan!" he cheerfully replied as Itachi lightly tapped him on the forehead. "I'll be back in time for you to join the Academy."

Tri had saved his friend and training partner Sakura for last. He handed her a scroll, "In there is everything I intended to show or teach you. The scroll has another fourteen scrolls sealed inside. It covers chakra control, manipulating chakra natures, some various Jutsu etc. I also want to set you a target. Five years, make Chūnin in five years, you'd be 13 by then. 13 is an impressive age to reach it by and I believe you can do it." She gave him a firm nod as she accepted the scroll, the fires of determination blazing in her eyes.

Naruto moved towards the rest of his family. Kneeling down brought him eye to eye with his younger brother. Rezano had been rather mopey since learning his brothers wouldn't be around for four years. "Hey Rezano-kun, with me and Tri-kun gone you're going to have to look out for Minusha-chan ok?" The young boy silently nodded, not trusting his voice to hold. "Keep up with your training too, I want to see how good you've become when I return."

He ended his goodbye by wrapping his brother a big hug. Releasing Rezano, he moved onto Kushina, with Minusha in her arms. Since making his decision, she'd been reclusive and very quiet. For the woman herself she'd barely gotten through Tri's goodbye without tearing up, saying goodbye to a second son immediately afterwards proved too much as the tears slowly slipped down her face.

Handing Minusha over to Minato she pulled Naruto into a fierce hug, Tri chose that moment to walk within range of her arms as he too was yanked into the hug. "You'd better write and regularly, you hear me!" she ordered them both. She tried to add authority to her voice but ultimately failed. "Don't worry Kaa-chan, we will," Naruto reassured her as she tried to squeeze the air out of their lungs.

"Hokage-sama, it's time," an ANBU captain quietly said. Minato had assigned an ANBU squad to escort them to the capital safely.

Kushina finally released her grip on them. Minato put a comforting arm around her shoulders as Tri and Naruto moved next to Itachi and the four ANBU. Everyone began waving, Naruto got the final word, "See you in four years."

And with that the seven Shinobi vanished in a flurry of Shunshin's.

* * *

- **A year later** -

"Remember the play boys and girls," a female voice quietly said over the radio sets they all had in their ears. No one else said anything in reply.

Right now seven of the Shugonin Jūnishi were on a mission, their task was to extract a bandit camp leader that had been targeting people of high profile on their way between the major settlements in Hi no Kuni as well as deal as much damage as possible in the sort time-frame they had.

The sun had set nearly half an hour ago, the faint red of dusk still hung in the sky as the first glimpses of the moon broke through the clouds. They had been watching the camp for several days, learning the guard rotations. Itachi using only his eyes had hypnotised a guard to draw them a layout of the camp. And now they were ready to carry out their orders.

"Itachi, Maki. You two swing right and hit the camp from the north-east. Tri, Inari. You both swing left and provide our first distraction from the west. Then me, Naruto and Chiriku will cause the second distraction and hit them from the south. Itachi, Maki. You both extract their leader, remember I want him alive! I want us in and out in five minutes children."  
"Hai, Senpai," many of them replied.

Tri and Inari dropped down from the trees landing on a dirt trail that lead up to the camp. They slowly snuck forward until they were just out of range of the many lit torches illuminating what was the most guarded gate. It had the heaviest fortifications and the most guards, however, it was made of wood.

The radio crackled to life once more. "Report readiness," the female voice asked. "West ready," Inari replied in her light voice. "North-east ready," Itachi reported. "And we're ready at south, have fun children. Tri, when you're ready, start the show."

Tri slowly wove his hand-seals as he kneaded a substantial amount of chakra in his stomach. With his final hand seal he drew in a deep breath, allowing the air to mix with his chakra as the steam started coming out of his nose. He had to take great precautions to ensure he didn't boil himself inside-out. But despite the measures he took to protect himself Inari could still feel the heat coming off him.

" **Shakuton: Kami Hi Kaze no Jutsu** ," (Scorch Release: Divine Fire Wind Technique) the poor souls on and around the wooden gatehouse stood no chance as the firestorm enveloped them in an instant. With only the briefest flash of light as a warning before they were incinerated. The immense heat quickly eating away at the wooden ramparts leaving nought but cinders and ash in its wake.

The bandit camp that had one moment been settling in for a quiet night in the next moment found itself a witness to the blinding flash of light as the western gatehouse went up in flames. The alarm was quickly raised as dozens rushed to defend the camp as dozens more marshalled in the centre of camp to better meet any potential threat.

"That's our cue," Wakiko said to Naruto and Chiriku either side of her. With part of the garrison drawn to the west, it was their job to draw the rest out leaving Itachi and Maki a clean path to the leader. The three of them threw almost a hundred explosive tagged kunai across the southern defences. These, however, weren't the regular brand of explosive tags either, they were a special, more _explosive_ design. As was demonstrated when they detonated. Bodies and huge chunks of wood were cast high into the early evening air as the explosions enveloped the ramparts.

"You two, bring your platoons, we'll secure the southern flank."  
"Hai, Captain," they both replied.

"And there's our cue, Itachi. Let's move," Maki quietly said as they watched the final reserves move southwards before they both scaled the near-abandoned north-eastern wall. Maki embeding several shuriken in one guard to clear their path to the main tent. Their reconnaissance hadn't revealed any ninja amongst the bandit's outfit so they weren't expecting much trouble as they quietly but rapidly made their way to their target.

Yamakawa Manobu was the leader of the camp, with nearly two hundred men under his command, he considered himself a near king. He had had a good day running his own little kingdom in the far south-west of Hi no Kuni. And he had intended to enjoy his evening too. It was that time of the month where he'd hire a batch of prostitutes from the nearby city to entertain himself and keep those under his command happy.

He'd been most of the way out of his clothes as he cast his eyes over the exposed skin of the two woman he'd picked out, he half wondered whether they were sisters, they looked vaguely similar. Then the screaming and explosions had started.

He desperately tried to put his clothes back on as quickly as possible while the two woman clung to each other in fear as the screams of the dead and dying continued to criss-cross the camp. Manobu heard the flap of his tent and turned thinking it would be some of his senior officers. Instead he turned to find two figures clad in gear befitting shinobi, then he saw the sashes around their waists.

"Ah, shit," was all he managed to mutter as Itachi shunshined behind him and cracked the ring end of a kunai off his skull. Manobu went limp and flopped to the floor unconscious. Itachi cast his gaze over the two naked woman looking at him, the fear evident in their eyes. "I suggest you find your way back to town ladies," he suggested as Maki hefted Manobu over her shoulder and began making her exit, her Uchiha comrade right behind her.

The fighting had broken out across the west and south. Inari ducked under a clumsy swing of a sword and using two kunai slashed the poor fool's stomach open, his intestines spilling out onto the floor. "Target extracted," they all heard over the radio. "Confirmed North-east, target extracted. West, South, begin withdrawal, meet up outside town, east entrance," Wakiko ordered as Naruto beheaded his latest opponent.

"Understood, South. Beginning withdrawal," Inari replied. ' _And not a moment too soon_ ' she thought as shuriken started flying through the air in their general direction. She could tell they were being thrown blindly but with how little light there was left it was near impossible to see them until they were barely a foot away.

And if she couldn't see them coming, then Tri couldn't either. In particular, the one that had just lodged itself in his face.

* * *

End Chapter

 **And with that, the time-skip can begin and then we can slow things down some as we reach canon, or at least what's left of it. And yes I acknowledge the irony in Tri teaching Sakura to instinctively dodge projectiles and not be able to dodge one himself. And yes it was a talk heavy chapter with not a great deal of action so I extended the camp raid, it was only going to be 2-300 words initially, it's just shy of 1100 now.**

 **Also as I finish adding the final touches to this chapter this story stands on the brink of breaking 10,000 views which is just awesome, thank you all.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

 **Nypism** : Yep, I have re purposed Sakura as well as make her about three years older. As for how she'll develop, she'll be less of a medic nin and more of a well rounded Shinobi.

Returns and unpleasant surprises

* * *

It all looked exactly the same, nothing looked out of place, everything was how they remembered it. It was strange how they remembered every detail considering it had been four years since they travelled this route on their way to the capital.

But their time in the capital was at an end, it was time to return home, to Konoha. As for the village itself, they had yet to set eyes upon it and four years was a long time in a hidden village. They wondered how it had changed. New buildings, new Ninja and only Kami knew what else.

That's not to say they hadn't changed either, they had. Four years of cuts and scrapes, of protecting the Daimyō's family and occasionally assassinating deserving members of other families; The Daimyō had many enemies after all. Even if you became the greatest of leaders you would still have those who would prefer you replaced by someone more in line with their way of thinking.

It was a pity therefore that the heirs to the Uzumaki, Namikaze and Uchiha clans proved most adept at removing those who sought the removal of the Daimyō.

Then they saw the first sign of the village, the great outer wall. The vast stone structure that marked the outer limits of the village proper. "Good to be home, eh Itachi?" Naruto asked. "Mm," he replied causing Naruto to laugh. They might have gotten older and more mature but Itachi was still as stoic as he had always been.

It took another ten minutes of casual walking to reach the southern gate. It was best not to rush headlong towards a hidden village, the reception tended not to be so welcoming in such circumstances.

Nevertheless they soon approached the southern check-in station to find the same two Chūnin who'd been there when they'd left. "Four years. Do you they keep you locked in there or something?" Naruto asked jokingly. "Huh? Have we m.. Wait, Naruto-san? Is that you?" Kotetsu asked as he elbowed Izumo awake.

"Wha.. what? What? Damn it Kotetsu, I was having a nice drea..."  
"Never mind your damned dreaming, look who it is," he butted in while pointing at the figures stood in front of them. "Huh?" Izumo groggily murmured, "Bright blonde hair, violet eyes, doesn't act as if the world should bow at his feet. Why if it isn't little ol' Naruto. Has it been four years already?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by 'doesn't act as if the world should bow at his feet?" Suddenly the two experienced Chūnin looked very nervous, neither saying a thing. "Well, I'm waiting," Naruto said, adding an authoritative edge to his voice. "Uh, let's just say your younger brother has developed somewhat of a big head and.. Well you'll see yourself soon enough," Kotetsu near whispered.

"I see," was Naruto's blunt reply. "I'm sorry to say that your brother is much the same, Itachi-san. The Uchiha's formerly emotionless face shifted slightly to reflect his annoyance. Just like Naruto, Itachi had zero-tolerance for showboating and smug, arrogant attitudes. They'd dealt with enough people who were all too full of themselves during their stint in the capital.

"I see," was also his reply.

"So where's the third member of your little troupe?" Kotetsu asked after recalling three left that day but only two stood in front of him. "You mean Tri? Don't worry about him, he'll be back at a later date," Naruto replied, his cheery facial expression suddenly returning.

"Well, anyway. Let's get you both signed in," Kotetsu added. The two returning Chūnin handed over their papers and were quickly listed at present within the village once more. "Alright, that's it. Now, orders were left for you to present yourselves to the Hokage as soon as you returned."

"Alright, thanks Kotetsu-san, Izumo-san. See ya around," Naruto thanked. "Yeah, you too, we'll see you around Naruto-san, Itachi-san," they replied as the two fourteen-year-olds headed further into the village.

Strolling through the bustling streets of the market district saw them both come to similar conclusions. "While it looks the same, I don't ever recall there being so many people," Itachi commented. "Agreed, I don't think I've ever seen so many people at once in the village. There seemed to be more buildings around the outskirts too. Looks like the village has been growing just fine without us."

They continued through the market district, weaving through the bustling crowds. After a few minutes Itachi spoke again. "Yeah, I had enough of dodging and ducked through the crowds in the capital, I am not doing it here too." Naruto turned his head just in time to see him partner disappear only to reappear on a nearby rooftop. Naruto chuckled before shunshining up to join him. "I couldn't agree more."

In the capital they weren't permitted to jump from rooftop to rooftop unless absolutely necessary, thus they had to travel through the streets as civilians did. There was no such rule in Konoha. Something that relieved them both immensely as they began hopping from roof to roof, the Hokage's tower off in the distance.

The area surrounding the Hokage's tower hadn't changed at all. Then again any new construction would require an older structure be pulled down to make way for it. Both soon dropped down and Naruto headed for the door. "What, you not going to use the window?" Itachi queried. Naruto only smiled as he pulled the door open and held it for Itachi.

"I thought about it," he replied, "And as funny as it would be to jump Tou-san after four years, best not. Don't want the ANBU in the corner of the office getting jumpy. Besides, we need to be professional." Itachi let the slightest of smiles appear on his face as he stepped through the opened door. "Arigatou, Naruto and yes perhaps that would be best."

* * *

Minato's day had been dull to say the least. Then again, paperwork was never exciting to begin with. He sighed as he leaned back in his chair, the latest accursed piece of paper finished with. But no matter how many he got through, the pile to his right never seemed to shrink. No, if anything Minato was certain it had grown since this morning.

His boredom was interrupted by a knock at the door. The door opened slightly as his assistants head popped around the door. "Two Chūnin to see you, Hokage-sama," she said with a slight giggle. "Uh, ok. Send them in?"

' _Chūnin, I don't recall asking any Chūnin to see me._ '

Minato remained in his slight state of confusion, right up until the door swung open. "Yo! Tou-san," Naruto cheered as he stepped into the office. Itachi sweatdropped, "Act professional huh," he muttered. "Well, I wondered who the mystery Chūnin were," Minato said as he rose from his chair.

Walking around his desk he opened his arms which Naruto accepted without question. "It's good to see you again, Naruto-kun," he quietly said. "Likewise Tou-san, likewise." Separating again Minato turned to Itachi, "It's good to see you again too Itachi-san," he said, greeting him with a hand-shake. "It's good to be back, Hokage-sama."  
"So that's two of you, where's Tri-kun?"  
"Don't worry, Tou-san, he's ok. We'll explain when Kaa-chan's here. No point in repeating ourselves."  
"Alright then. She shouldn't be long, she's in a meeting with the council. It's that time of the year again."

"Still?" Naruto remarked with a slight wince. "Yep."

Despite Kushina for all intents and purposes being the leader of the Uzumaki clan in Konoha with Tri as her named heir, the Uzumaki's weren't technically a clan like the Uchiha or Nara, they were more a prominent family. Kushina had been trying for years to get the clan officially established in Konoha. But it was all for nought as she lacked the support of enough council members, civilian and Shinobi alike. Despite that she persevered and made her case anew once or twice a year.

It wasn't because of a lack of Uzumaki's in Konoha, after all the Namikaze's continued to be recognised as a clan during a time when Minato was the only living member. No, the reason she had been unsuccessful was that she lacked a definitive marker, something that said to others, 'I am Clan Leader'. Unfortunately any such relics were lost or stolen away when Uzushiogakure fell.

They talked idly amongst themselves for the next few minutes before the door opened again. In walked a weary-eyed Kushina. "Hey, Kimi. How'd it go?"  
"Same as per usual, stupid Council," she irritably replied walking across the office. "Hey Naruto-kun, Itachi-sa.." Her voice stopped and her movements did too. She slowly turned her head towards the blonde haired teenager leaning against the wall.

She slowly walked up to him in complete silence. Soft and slow footsteps as if she were trying to sneak up on a mouse, she steadily approached Naruto who didn't move an inch. Eventually Kushina came to a stop right in front of him, their faces almost touching.

Naruto kissed her on the nose suddenly, "Hi, Kaa-chan," he quietly said with a wide grin. She smiled back as the moisture being pooling in her eyes. "Naruto-kun," she whispered before launching herself at him.

At that moment Naruto wondered if this is what it was like to be hugged by a bear as his ribs compressed into his lungs. "Kaa-chan," he hoarsely whispered, "I think you're going to break something. With a gasp, she lessened her stranglehold on his chest which allowed him to hug her back.

Her frustrations with the council utterly forgotten as a few tears of joy slipped down her cheeks, her Naruto was back.

"Wait, where's Tri?" she asked taking a step back. "He isn't…"  
"Nononono," Naruto hurriedly reassured her, "He's fine. He decided to stay and serve a fifth year," he explained. "How come?" Minato asked.

This time it was Naruto and Itachi's turn to look uncomfortable as they quickly looked at one another, Itachi nodded once causing Naruto to sigh.

"Alright, you have a right to know I guess. It was late last year, the three of us and a few others were assigned a mission to track down a noblewoman's daughter that had been kidnapped, she was only a year or two older than us. She was known to everyone in the Shugonin Jūnishi so we were all rather eager to safely return her. But by the time we'd tracked her and her kidnappers down, it was too late. By then her throat had been cut but not before she'd been repeatedly raped."

Naruto drew his breath as Minato and Kushina winced before continuing, "And he, well he."

"He snapped," Itachi butted in. "I've seen him angry before but nothing like that. And we think it changed him slightly. It isn't noticeable in day to day life but in combat he developed a slight sadistic streak, he allows emotions to influence him ever so slightly. Since that day he tasked himself with tracking down all those responsible. When we left there were only two or three left out of thirteen."

"I see," Kushina said sombrely. "So he returns next year?"  
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Itachi replied.

"Tou-san, Kaa-chan. What's this I hear about Rezano-kun having an attitude problem?" Naruto questioned, looking to move on before the awkward silence set in. This time it was Minato and Kushina's turns to look uncomfortable. Minato sighed before explaining, "Not long after you left we began Rezano-kun's training properly with the help of Tsunade, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, myself and Kushina. And sadly it seems to have gone to his head."

"In what way?"  
"He seems to have gotten it into his head that he is superior to his peers."  
"And how does he act around Minusha-chan?" Naruto menacingly asked. "Thankfully, she's too young to understand but he keeps trying to make her act as he does and it upsets her."

"How did this come about?"  
"Due to the prominence of those training him he seems to have got it into his head that he's better than those around him."  
"We've tried talking to him, but nothing seems to get through," Kushina lamented. "How good is he compared to say, me or Itachi when we were that age?"  
"He's one of the best who joins the academy next year but he's behind your development curve," Minato replied which made Naruto snort. "Alright, let me take a shot at getting through to him."

"But Naruto-kun, we've all tried talking to him and it had no effect."  
"Kaa-chan, words won't be my only weapon," he bluntly replied making her cringe but said nothing.

"Hokage-sama, I have heard that my Otouto has unfortunately walked a similar path to Rezano-san." The Yondaime nodded, "I'm afraid so Itachi-san. Sometime after you left your father took on a far greater role in his training and his personality seems to have rubbed off on him."

"Ha, a greater role, he had no role at all when I left," Itachi bluntly replied. His face said nothing, no emotion, his eyes however shone with flickers of anger.

"Speaking of my father, is my clan still acting up or have they learnt to behave themselves?" Minato's eyes quickly looked at Naruto before returning to Itachi. "Anything you have to say to me, you can say to Naruto too." Their eyes locked for a moment, Minato's blue and Itachi's red. "Alright then. No Itachi they haven't, frankly the situation is only growing worse."

Itachi was silent a moment, "I see. Then would you have me assume Shisui's role and report to you on my wayward clan?"  
"Are you willing to assume such a role?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Shisui entrusted me with safeguarding the village, even from members of my own family. The village comes before the clan, Shisui understood that and so do I. But if I'm to do this then I need to be of use to my father and I can't provide that as a Chūnin."

"Agreed, which is why I'm going to fast-track the pair of you to your Jōnin trials, I imagine four years wearing the sash has developed you beyond the level of a Chūnin. For the next month or so the two of you will be given missions that would be handled by experienced Chūnin. At the end of which I'll start the ball rolling on your Jōnin trials, I doubt either of you will have much difficulty passing them."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," both replied. "Very well then, dismissed. Kushina-chan, perhaps it'd be best if you go home with Naruto-kun lest Minusha-chan think someone is breaking in." The red-haired woman eagerly nodded as she wrapped her arms around one of Naruto's and began pulling him towards the door. "Uh, guess I'll see you later Tou-san," he managed to say before he was yanked out of the office entirely.

That left Minato and Itachi alone, "Hokage-sama, would I be of greater use to you as a Jōnin or an ANBU?"  
"I believe ANBU would be best Itachi-san, they are privy to more secretive missions and sensitive information."  
"Very well then," he replied as he too exited the office, heading for home."

* * *

It was as Kushina walked alongside her first-born son that she got her first proper look at him. Now 14 years old he had shot up six or seven inches in height. He now looked like a Shinobi and not a child with defined muscle mass on his arms, broader shoulders. He was almost as tall as she was and it annoyed her slightly.

His outfit too had developed with him. The three-quarter pants were now azure-blue, not black while the mesh was now only present on his left leg. The shirt was a lighter shade of blue with the two tantō scabbards woven into the shirt itself, the mesh shirt was still worn underneath. While the most prominent edition, the Shugonin Jūnishi sash was wrapped around his right thigh, just above the knee. His forearms and hands were wrapped in bandages and covered with a multitude of various seals. If he had any scars she couldn't see them.

"So Naruto-kun, did you meet a nice girl during your time in the capital?" she asked teasingly which turned into a giggle as she spotted the blush on his cheeks. "Uh, no Kaa-chan, no girls."  
"What? No girlfriend at all?" she exclaimed. "No Kaa-chan, we rarely had time to ourselves outside of our duties and training."

His answer made Kushina pout, "Well that's boring. Maybe I'll have better luck getting anything out of Tri." This only made Naruto laugh, "Yeah, good luck with that Kaa-chan, he left himself even less free time than me. Although I did notice something a while back about him."

"Oh?" Kushina replied with a mile-wide grin that unnerved Naruto slightly. "Well, it's just, have you ever noticed how apart from me and Itachi nearly all of Tri's closest friends are female."  
"They are?"  
"Yeah, Hana-chan, Maki-senpai and Inari-chan and Sakura-san are the obvious ones."

Their conversations varied as they continued towards their family home. "Will Minusha-chan be home, Kaa-chan?"  
"Yep, I believe she's currently having a chakra control lesson with Shizune-san."  
"Great, I've missed her terribly," Naruto happily admitted, Kushina couldn't help but smile as they reached their street.

And soon enough they were stood outside their home. It hadn't changed at all, sure it looked like the fence had been painted while he'd been away but it still looked identical. "It's good to be home," he quietly said. "It's good to have you home," Kushina added giving him another hug.

"Come on Naruto-kun, Minusha-chan's been waiting to meet you properly for ages," she said leading him to the door.

Inside was a young girl with vibrant red hair and violet eyes and her black haired teacher. "That's it Minusha-chan, you just keep improving," Shizune cheered as she watched the leaves spin on her student's fingertips. "Keep this up and we might move up to small pebbles soon." Her declaration brought a brief smile before it was replaced by a frown. ' _Not that it matters. Rezano-nii-san will still make fun of me, say I'm not good enough._ '

Shizune was about to reassure her youngest student but she heard the front door open before she could speak. "Minusha-chan, Shizune-san. I'm back," Kushina called from the hallway. "Kaa-chan!" Minusha happily shouted back as she made a break for the hallway to greet her mother.

Through the door into the hallway and straight into her mother's waiting arms. It was only as she drew back from her hug that she noticed someone else standing in the doorway. Upon seeing the stranger her natural shyness set in as she tried to hide herself behind Kushina.

"It's ok, Minusha-chan. He's been wanting to meet you properly for a long time," she reassured her. Naruto knelt down in front of youngest sibling, "Hello, Minusha-chan, my names Naruto and I'm your older brother."

The look she gave him was conflicted as elation and trepidation battled for dominance in her mind. She remembered Kaa-chan telling her about her two other older brothers of whom she had only the vaguest of memories. Her parents had told her how they both doted over her constantly but her memories of how Rezano-nii-san treated her left her very apprehensive

She pushed her anxiety aside and rushed in to hug her returned brother. "Nii-chan," she whispered making Naruto's smile widen as he tightened their hug. Leaning back Naruto placed his hands on either side of her face, "Let me get a good look at you." He nodded to himself, "Yep you're going to look just like Kaa-chan when you're older." He got a small smile in return.

"Tri-kun wanted me to tell you that he's really looking forward to seeing you again and that he'll be back before you know it, ok?"  
"Ok, Nii-chan," Minusha enthusiastically replied.

Naruto stood again, lifting his five-year-old sister into his arms. "So what were you up to Imouto?"  
"I was practising using my chakra with Shizune-chan."  
"You were huh," he said walking into the dining room. "Well Shizune-chan, how's she been getting on?"  
"Very well, Naruto-kun. Even if she won't admit it."  
"Huh, why wouldn't you think you're doing well?" he asked her. He didn't get a reply, she instead buried her head in between his shoulder and neck.

' _Hmm, she seems to lack self-esteem, rectifying that will take time_ ,' Naruto thought to himself, refusing to let his little sister beat herself up over something she should take pride in. "Why don't you show me what you've been learning?" Sensing the nervousness in her, "Please?" he added sweetly.

She reluctantly agreed, slipping out of his arms and picked up the leaf on the table. First balancing it on the tip of her right index finger she used her chakra to first hold it in place and slowly spin it clockwise. Naruto let a wide smile cross his face as the leaf continued to spin. Naruto was surprised that she was to spin the leaf at her age, he'd past his sixth birthday before he could do it. His surprise only grew when he noticed the lack of strain on her face.

A strained face meant they were struggling or having to concentrate hard but Minusha's face was almost serene. "Have you tried spinning a leaf on two fingers Minusha-chan?" She mutely nodded as Shizune carefully placed a leaf on her middle finger, within a few seconds it too was spinning clockwise.

Naruto shook his head in disbelief, something that Minusha spotted. The leaves immediately fell to the floor as she tried to run from the room. Before she could however Naruto gently held her arm, sensing what was wrong he made to reassure her. Placing his hand under her chin he lifted her face so he could look her in the eyes, he noticed the sadness in them.

"Minusha-chan, I'm not shaking my head because you're doing it badly, I'm shaking my head because I'm amazed. You're five years old and your chakra control is already this good."  
"Nearly six," she quietly muttered to herself but not quietly enough. "Ok, ok, nearly six then," Naruto laughed. "It doesn't change the fact that I was past my sixth birthday before I could do this. Is two the most you can do or can you do more?"

"Come on, Minusha-chan. Time to show up your Nii-chan," Shizune said, trying to encourage her. She was silent and unmoving for a few moments but relenting and holding out her hand. Shizune added the leaves one at a time and before long each finger on her right hand had a leaf spinning on it.

"Ffffff-four!?" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief. "I didn't know you could count Naruto-kun," Kushina joked which earned her a narrow-eyed glare from him. "Minusha-chan, who on earth made you think this wasn't good? This is remarkable. I couldn't do this at that age, hell Tri-kun couldn't. I take it her chakra reserves are still sizeable?"  
"Hai, Naruto-kun," Shizune replied. Tsunade-sama found her chakra reserves to be larger than Rezano-kun's natural reserves but smaller than Tri-kun's." Naruto nodded, understanding the hidden meaning in her words. Rezano's own reserve was large but was massively supplemented by the Kyūbi's chakra.

"Despite that though, she seems to be gifted with heightened control over her chakra, something which we don't truly understand," Shizune added. Naruto had heard of and seen many abilities but this one was new to him.

"Rezano-nii-san," he heard her finally reply, her voice barely a whisper. He gave her a reassuring hug. ' _Well then, Imouto, appears you failed me. The honorific change says alot. It would appear that someone needs to use a firm hand on you and by Kami be glad it's me and not Tri unless you want to end up in the hospital. I have little tolerance for stupidity, he has none._ '

He hadn't even seen his youngest brother again. But here he was already plotting on how best to break through his Imouto's idiocy. ' _Sigh, this is going to be a long year._ '

"Ok, Minusha-chan, here's what I want you to do. I want you to totally ignore what Rezano-kun says ok. If he tries to make fun of you, tell me and I'll deal with him, ok?"  
"Ok," she mutely responded.

* * *

- **One week later** -

*crack*

Naruto sighed, he had warned him, a fair but blunt warning at that. A warning that if he tried messing with Minusha again, he'd wrap him around a tree.

So when he returned from a week on patrol to find him pushing his little sister around he acted and proceeded to launch him at the nearest tree. Ok so maybe the tree was a little too wide to literally wrap him around it but that didn't mean he couldn't try.

*Sigh*, "I wonder how Itachi's getting on with Sasuke?" he said to himself

* * *

*Crack*

Itachi sighed, he was a patient young man, more so than most but even he had his limits and his younger sibling had been testing his patient ever since he'd returned. He had hoped, perhaps in vain that reports of his brother's attitude were blown out of proportion. Sadly, however, they were completely correct. Their father's influence had leeched into Sasuke's mindset, all that nonsense about Uchiha superiority and he'd lapped it up.

For the past week, bar the two days he was on a C-Rank mission Sasuke had been trying almost desperately to challenge him for his heirship of the clan and Itachi didn't know whether to be surprised or embarrassed by Sasuke's attempts. Was he capable for his age? Sure. Was he the slightest threat and in anyway able to defeat Itachi? Goodness no.

Even if they were evenly matched he wouldn't concede the heirship, he had set his mind on rehabilitating the Uchiha clan. But still, he'd grown tired of his Otouto mistaking his utter disinterest for cowardice and thus had kicked him into a wall.

Itachi was all that holding his younger brother up as he held him by the hair, he leaned in closer. "You need to drop these delusions of yours Sasuke, they'll only end badly for you," he quietly spoke in his ear. He released his grip on his hair and he slumped to the ground.

"I wonder how Naruto's getting on with his Otouto?" he sombrely said to himself as he turned away from his only sibling.

* * *

End Chapter


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Taking the Trial and setting the date

* * *

"Do you have everything you need, Itachi-kun?"  
"Hai, Kaa-san," he replied as he finished tying his sash around his waist before kneeling down he double checked the straps of the interlocking metal platelets that protected the top of his feet. "Ok, and remember it's not the end of the world if you don't pass, you'll get other opportunities."

He gave her a small smile as he stood, "Thanks, Kaa-san but I'm confident I can do it." Before she could reply she heard a snort as Sasuke entered the room. He had been listening to their conversation from the hallway. He knew his older brother began his Jōnin trials today but Sasuke couldn't comprehend why people thought his brother was Jōnin material.

Itachi had been back for a little while now and what Sasuke found disappointed him, Itachi was soft, a characteristic not befitting of an elite shinobi, especially one possessing the Sharingan.

In reality it simply hadn't occurred to Sasuke that the Itachi he saw at home was entirely different to on mission Itachi. He had no idea that his elder brother was an incredibly efficient killer, how could he, he hadn't yet joined the academy although that would soon change.

"Something you wish to add, Sasuke?" Upon his return Itachi had quickly noted his brothers lack of honorifics, so he replied in kind. He never actually got an answer unless one counted a derisive snort as an answer as he sat down and proceeded to ignore them both. Something Mikoto thought very little of, she'd long since resigned herself to her husband turning his nose up at those he considered inferior but for passing on that attitude to their youngest son, she resented him.

Itachi and Mikoto simply ignored him in return. She looked at her eldest one last time. It had been nearly two months since his return. And yet despite four years in the capital he was still the same kind, calm and gentle son she remembered, she was also under no illusions that her sons kill count probably surpassed her own now. But she was proud of Itachi, clad now in black pants that tightened around the lower leg and a light grey shirt. His ankles were wrapped up but his arms remained bare. His Hitai-ate remained on his forehead with his red sash around his waist.

She had inquired as to why his sash was red not long after his return, remembering that Asuma's and Naruto's were different colours.

 _* **Flashback** *_

" _Itachi-kun, why is your sash a different colour to Asuma-san's and Naruto-san's?"  
_ " _Asuma's is grey because they were all grey while he was a member. About 18 months after we joined they changed it so each of us had our own unique colour, the colour became our nickname. So I became red, Naruto chose Azure blue and his nickname became Azure."  
_ " _Out of interest, what colour is Tri-san's?" she inquired. Itachi smiled slightly, "See if you can guess," he asked._

 _Mikoto was a little surprised by his response, that surely meant the colour Tri chose wasn't what you would expect. "Well my guess would have been green, because of his eyes but I get the feeling it's something else, right?"_

"And you are correct _. His is actually violet."  
_ " _Violet?" replied a baffled Mikoto. Itachi nodded, "Yeah, turns out his favourite colour is light violet, who'd have thought."_

 _* **End Flashback** *_

Mikoto smiled as she remembered that conversation, imagining Tri wearing anything violet in colour still felt strange.

"Anyway, Kaa-san. I'm off," Itachi said to her as he headed for the door. "Good luck, Itachi-kun," she replied. "Try not to get yourself killed like some loser," Sasuke smirked. Itachi didn't say anything, he only stared his brother straight in the eyes. Itachi having long since mastered maintaining his Sharingan permanently meant Sasuke simply couldn't win a stare down against them. Much to his frustration and petulant lamentation for not yet awakening the tomoe within his own eyes.

As expected after a few seconds Sasuke looked away, silently frustrated at being bested again. Without another word Itachi departed the house, stepping out into one of the many streets comprising the Uchiha clan holdings in Konoha. Flushing his limbs with a quick surge of chakra he vanished in a Shunshin, heading for Hokage tower.

It had taken a little longer than expected to get the ball rolling on his and Naruto's Jōnin trials but it did mean they'd taken several more missions as they were kept waiting for one reason or another. It certainly wasn't from a lack of chasing up from Hokage-sama. Ultimately Itachi wasn't that fussed since he met all the criteria required of a prospective Jōnin.

A Chūnin looking for their promotion was required to have successfully completed enough higher rank missions as well as have a success rate of at least 85% which Itachi passed since missions taken while in the Shugonin Jūnishi counted.

To ensure the promotion was to full Jōnin and not to Tokubetsu Jōnin you needed to be highly skilled in a minimum of two fields, preferably three. Itachi easily passed this thanks to his specialities in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu whilst he was highly capable in Taijutsu. Naruto on the other hand had Taijutsu and Kenjutsu as his two most potent fields with Ninjutsu serving as his third.

As he went from rooftop to rooftop he allowed his mind a rare opportunity to wander. Memories of seeing his friends and sensei again after years away brought a smile to his face. He'd been on a mission with some of them and he was delighted to see the progress they'd made. Every one of the twelve from their class had by now been promoted to Chūnin, an accolade not every academy class could claim.

He hadn't been told what his Jōnin trial would entail but he knew that he would be leading the mission, a Jōnin would accompany him to observe how he performed. To be a Chūnin you needed to display both ability and show signs of leadership qualities. To reach Jōnin, you needed to display a far greater level of ability and you had to display the traits of a leader.

Itachi knew one thing for sure, it wouldn't be a patrol mission.

* * *

- **Hokage's Office** -

"Alright you two, now that you're both here we can get you going on the final phase your Jōnin trials." Minato noticed the surprised looks on both their faces which made him grin. "Oh yes, your trials have been ongoing for near enough the last month. Here in Konoha, we take a lot into consideration before promoting someone."

"This includes but is not limited to: How often you train, the number of missions you have undertaken, the success rate of those missions and your temperament both on mission and off duty. You represent this village as well as yourselves, thus you must be trustworthy with the diplomatic wellbeing of this village as well as it's military wellbeing," Minato finished, his grin still present. Both teenagers silently nodded their understanding.

"Ok as for your missions as you'll have probably guessed, you'll be on separate missions, each one I feel better suits each of you. Naruto-kun, your mission is detailed in this," he explained as he handed him a sealed envelope. "To summarise, a rural town is having trouble with a minor missing-nin."  
"How would you like them dealt with?" Naruto asked. "Preferably brought back alive but not required," Naruto nodded.

"Itachi-san, your mission is also detailed in the envelope but to summarise you need to steal or at least copy a series of important documents from a merchant and turn them over to the client. Killing is forbidden on this one and you can't be spotted, period. Because of this, your team will only contain you and your Jōnin observer." Like Naruto, Itachi nodded his understanding.

"Now as you're both prominent talents, the shinobi half of the council decided you needed prominent Jōnin to observe. Both are former ANBU." Ok, so that was only half true as Yamato was technically still a member of ANBU.

"Naruto-kun, you've got Yamato-san, Itachi-san, you get Kakashi-kun. Yamato-san's skill-set lends itself well to capturing someone alive while Kakashi-kun's one of the best when it comes to infiltration." Again both nodded. "That's it. Naruto-kun, your team is waiting by the north gate. Itachi-san, Kakashi-kun is waiting just outside the window as he tends to do." A revelation that got a laugh out of Naruto.

Both the teenagers looked at one another and with a handshake bid one another good luck.

Itachi pushed the window open and stuck his head out. Sure enough off to the side leant against the wall, reading his ever-present book was Itachi's sole companion for the next few days. "Yo, Itachi-san, you ready to go?" he asked not looking up from his book. "Yes, are you?"  
"Yep."  
"Let's get going then." Snapping his book shut and putting it away while pushing himself off the wall. He gave Itachi a nod indicating his readiness.

Itachi pushed a little chakra into the envelope in his hands, a small seal on the front unfurled itself and spelt out the word 'East'. "We're going east, Kakashi," he informed him, both shunshined away.

They both moved in relative silence for nearly an hour, having long since signed out from the village. Now they were far enough away to read the envelope. The seal on the outside of the envelope gave them a direction to travel in. The envelope was only to be opened when the team could guarantee the security of its contents.

Tearing open the wax seal, Itachi took out the mission brief.

 _Mission details_ _:_

 _Travel south-east to Shama city on the coast, find the headquarters of the merchant Koba Tako. Once found, infiltrate and steal/ copy documents on financial transactions for the previous five years. All documents believed to be held in a single safe somewhere within the building._

 _Once documents are secure, travel south along the coast to the town of Fuke. The client is staying in a tavern called 'The White Wave' for the next fourteen days under the name of Azun, this is your time limit._

 _Mission Requirements and Knowledge distribution_ _:_

 _Absolute secrecy, Killing is FORBIDDEN, detection is not permissable. Violation of either of these will result in mission failure. Not meeting your deadline will result in mission failure._

 _Knowledge distribution to your team is at your discretion._

 _Mission Ranking_ _:_

 _B-Rank._

He read through the brief a second time before handing it over to Kakashi who also read through it before returning it. "Mission brief read?" Kakashi asked, Itachi nodded before using a tiny amount of Katon chakra to ignite the brief. They waited a few moments, ensuring it all turned to ash before leaving, changing their direction of travel to the south-east.

* * *

- **A week later – Shama City** -

They had been taking turns staking out the headquarters of one Koba Tako for several days now. The building was of a fair size, three stories tall and some forty feet at its widest. The building had a rectangular shape and was completely detached from every other building around it.

During the day, nothing out of the ordinary occurred, employees and clients came and went. But at night the building had four guards patrolling outside the structure which didn't look out of the ordinary at all if it weren't for the six others who guarded the inside of the structure as Itachi had found out after scouting the top two floors while Kakashi watched the ground floor. It was during that reconnaissance that Itachi had found several safes on the top floor.

That was last night. Right now, Kakashi was scouting the ground floor, learning the patrol paths of the guards and their timing. They were pretty sure the safe was on the top floor, they'd already paid a visit to the cities library where they had managed to find a copy of the buildings blueprints, no basement or underground sections were excavated when the building was constructed but they had to be sure.

They knew that tomorrow night was their opportunity, the building next door, another merchant headquarters was hosting a party. Plenty of noise and bright lights as distractions, perfect.

Itachi was staked out on a rooftop alcove across the street. Kakashi had been gone nearly an hour so he was expecting him back shortly. He hoped Kakashi didn't find any safes on the ground floor, it would double their workload tomorrow night and double their risk of being spotted not to mention splitting them up. Not that splitting up mattered much when both could use shadow clones.

Itachi leaned back, the sound of the sea crashing against the stone walls of the cities port could be heard off in the distance as well as the sounds of the city, civilians going about their business, the occasional dog barking at one thing or another.

Without a sound Kakashi appeared next to him. "Find anything of interest Kakashi?"  
"No, no safes or secret basements. The guard patrols are erratic and lack consistency, I believe if there is a timetable they don't keep to it."  
"We can make that work, erratic likely means easily distracted. We'll devise our plan back at the hotel." Kakashi nodded as they both vanished with absolute silence.

- **The Following Night** -

"Ok, the parties in full swing Weasel. Ready to begin."  
"Understood Scarecrow, awaiting ground floor distraction," Itachi replied through the mic.

The first phase of the plan involved distracting the guards both in and around the building or at the very least draw their attention towards the lower half of the building. Their distraction was a henged shadow clone of Kakashi's masquerading as a drunk party-goer by the name Toji.

Right on cue the clone stumbled out of the building next door, they'd entered through one of the other entrances a few hours earlier so none of the guards would recognise them. They stumbled out of the entrance a Sake bottle in one hand and a small crate of more Sake bottles under the other arm.

The clone awkwardly made their way towards the guarded building, their steps unsteady and inconsistent. They pretended not to notice the guards until he was only feet away before stumbling back in surprise.

"By Kami, I-I didn't see you boyz ther," Toji said in surprise, his words slurred. He looked them over with his unfocused eyes. "Damn you all look bored half to death. I KNOW!" he suddenly shouted. "Why don't you take these," he said indicating the dozen or so Sake bottles. Toji could see he now had their attention.

"Why that sounds like a fantastic idea, friend," one of the guards replied. Toji only seemed to be half paying attention before blurting out, "My names Toji, not friend. But you are welcome." He handed over the bottles to one of the guards, "Remember to shar them now, y-you can't have a party on your own *hic*."

Without another word he began awkwardly walking down the street again, looking unsteady on his feet, even stumbling on a pothole at one point.

The bottles all soon found their way into the hands of many of the guards, wasting little time, the drinking began. Many coughing after their first taste, "Geez, this stuff is strong," one of them muttered. And yes, while the Sake was strong what they didn't know was that each bottle was laced with a potent herbal remedy used to help people sleep.

With step one underway, they bided their time, waiting for nearly an hour as the remedy began to take effect. As time went by the guards grew more sluggish. Kakashi's clone had long since dispelled after withdrawing to a safe distance before doing so.

Eventually they began slumping over against walls or in chairs, fast asleep. "Okay Weasel, guards are asleep."  
"How many do you count?"  
"I count seven asleep and I believe at least one more is somewhere on the ground floor."  
"Understood, let's begin." On his word both went silent as they entered through open windows on either side of the top floor.

Kakashi was further away from the safes but it was his job to locate any guards on the top floor and keep them away from Itachi while the Uchiha cracked the safes open. He slowly crept to the end of the corridor and holding his head close to the ground he peered around the corner to find it also empty. Bringing his hands together he whispered, " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**."

A single clone appeared next to him, using just his head Kakashi silently ordered the clone to scout down the opposite end of the corridor. The idea was they would both loop around and meet up on the other side, not far from where Itachi would be.

Meanwhile, Itachi had easily gotten in through the window, made sure there was no guard nearby before heading for the safes. The door to the safe room wasn't even locked and the safes themselves looked old and worn with outdated locking mechanisms. He started on a safe that only needed a key to open, pulling out his chakra metal lock pick he began trying to open it.

The wonderful difference with a shinobi lockpick was that you could push your chakra through and around it and if your chakra detection was sensitive enough you could feel the layout of the lock and quickly learn what you needed to open it. It meant that it only took around thirty seconds before he heard the click and the door opened slightly.

Itachi leaned forward and looked around the rim of the safe door looking for any traps, finding none he slowly pulled the door open, thankfully the door swung open silently and Itachi began scanning through its contents. A few minutes of looking through payroll and expenses going back years yielded none of the files he was looking for. Placing them back in a manner similar to how he found them he pushed the door to, not shutting it though, just in case.

He turned to the second safe as he felt a small pulse of chakra. He tensed slightly but relaxed again as he felt a second identical pulse. Kakashi had just signalled the top floor was clear, now he would watch the staircases for any guards that might ascend to the top floor.

The second safe was of a more complex design, an analogue combination locking mechanism. Again being a shinobi came in handy. He leaned his forehead and left palm against the safe door and channelled chakra through them both into the door. With his free right hand he began spinning the numbered dial, with his chakra permeating the locking mechanism he'd easily detect the clicks of it unlocking.

Although made substantially easier, it still took him nearly ten minutes to finally unlock the safe. Again it swung open with little effort or noise. Speaking of noise the party was still going strong next door, the faint sounds of musical instruments and conversation reaching his ears. Again he looked through the documents and this time he found what he was looking for all in a neat little pile.

Sorting out those he needed to copy into a small pile. Withdrawing a specially designed Fūinjutsu scroll from one of his storage seals. Laying it out flat it was long enough to place two pieces of paper end to end.

Placing the first document face down on the scroll he placed a blank sheet of paper below it. Placing his thumb on the primary seal he flushed it with chakra for a few seconds. Taking back both sheets he checked them against one another. The blank sheet of paper had become a near perfect copy of the original. Setting it aside, he moved onto the next one.

It took nearly half an hour to copy all the documents but finally he was able to replace the originals and relock the safe. For now he sealed the copies and the scroll into his storage seal. Pulsing his chakra twice told Kakashi that he was done. With that both made their way back the windows they used to get in. As Kakashi made to leap through the open window he heard footsteps begin to ascend the stairs.

But it didn't matter, they were gone. Both taking a different route back to their hotel.

Meanwhile elsewhere in Hi no Kuni one would find a somewhat disappointed Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto. He was staring down at the unconscious form of the missing-nin he and his team had been sent after. They were listed in the Konoha Bingo book as a B-Rank missing-nin. Yet despite that Naruto was still disappointed, disappointed at how easy it had proved to catch them.

Placing a chakra suppression seal on the back of his neck, removing any weapons and binding his hands and feet secured them. Naruto lifted them onto a clones shoulder and they made for home.

' _Wonder how Itachi's getting on?_ ' he wondered as he and his team jumped from tree to tree.

* * *

Itachi had just closed the door behind him. He and Kakashi had just reported the success of their mission to the Hokage. His departure left just Kakashi and Minato. "How'd he do Kakashi?"  
"Exceptionally well Hokage-sama. He understands the importance of knowing as much as possible before executing the mission. We watched the building for several days, day and night."

Minato just sat and listened as Kakashi continued. "We took the time to learn the layout of the building's interior, getting our hands on the building blueprints and then infiltrating the building itself to check for any hidden rooms or basements of which there were none."

"We could have completed the mission a day or two earlier but he bided his time, waiting for a prime opportunity which came in the form of a party at the building next door. Using the lights and sounds as a distraction we started the plan Itachi had devised."

"Using a henged shadow clone we used Sake laced with a sleeping remedy to incapacitate most of the guards or at the very least draw their attention to the bottom floor leaving us alone on the top floor. We waited the hour or so it took for the remedy to take full effect."

"Did Itachi chose the remedy used?"  
"Hai, Hokage-sama"  
"Why chose one that takes so long?"  
"He chose it because it wasn't fast acting. Having the guards fall asleep so suddenly would just arouse suspicion. After an hour it came across as drunk guards dozing off." Minato had to admit, he wouldn't have thought of that.

"I'm getting the impression Itachi planned everything out to come across as civilian as possible."  
"Yes, I got a similar impression when he laid out his plan to me."  
"Did he ask you to help in the creation of this plan."  
"He laid out his plan in its entirety first and then asked for my input."

"And did your input change the plan at all?"  
"Hai, a few small details were changed or improved upon. The only significant change was my Shadow clone slipping the guards the Sake instead of his own. It would have given him too much to do since he was going to be cracking the safes."

Minato tapped the top of his thumb against his chin. ' _Displays an air of authority and control by detailing his entire plan and then displaying a willingness to hear feedback and suggestions from his team as well as delegate tasks and responsibility._ '

"Were there any problems obtaining the documents?"  
"No, he didn't mention any issues with getting into the safes and yes I did ask whether he did. All in all, it took just under an hour to leave with the documents. Itachi cracked the safes and copied the documents while I watched for any guards. His Sharingan allows him to better see in the dark than mine. Turning on lights or bringing any light sources with us were unnecessary risks."

Again Minato found himself approving of the decisions taken. "And how did you ensure you'd leave the city without trouble?"  
"we were staying in a hotel on the other side of the city and we had a shadow clone of each of us come and go during the day and stake out the bar during the early evening. It meant there were witnesses who could put both of us far away from the target as well as allow us to watch for anyone spying on us."

Minato was silent a moment as his mind went over Kakashi's report again. "Do you think he is ready to be a Jōnin?" Now it was Kakashi's turn to be quiet, he closed his only visible eye as he analysed all he had seen Itachi do and all he knew about him. Opening his eye again, "Hai, he's ready?"

* * *

It had been a few days since both Naruto and Itachi had returned from their respective missions. Both had already been informed of the decision to promote them to Jōnin in a few weeks' time. Unlike Chūnin, Jōnin were promoted in groups three or four times a year. They would be among six being promoted.

Minato and Shikaku Nara were discussing various matters and had been for nearly an hour when there was a knock at the door. "Enter," Minato called out. Itachi and Naruto entered, "You called for us, Hokage-sama?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, Naruto-kun. Shikaku-san here wanted to run an idea past the two of you."  
"Thanks, Minato-san. As you'll have no doubt heard Konoha will be hosting the next major Chūnin Exams. And since it has been a few years since the village last hosted one we will need to improve the stadium facilities. When we've finished those improvements we want to trial run them, which is where you two come in."

"We want you two to partake in a pair of friendlies against other Jōnin. You can test out the fighting arena while we get to test the infrastructure."  
"When were you thinking of hosting these bouts Shikaku-san?" Itachi inquired. "After the improvements have been completed, they have an estimate of seven to eight months for completion."  
"Then why not wait the few extra months for Tri-kun to return, then you can have three bouts." Shikaku and Minato looked at one another, intrigued by the idea. Both quickly agreed, "Alright then Itachi-san, we'll hold off until all three of your Prodigal trio are back," Shikaku stated with an air of finality.

* * *

"Nii-chan, how long is left until Tri-nii-chan comes back?" Naruto was pulled from his thoughts by his sister's question. He had left Tou-san's office a few hours ago and had since been spending his afternoon with his little sister.

"Well, how long have I been back?" he replied. "Like two months," she answered. "That's right and that means there's still ten months left until Tri-kun comes back."  
"Aww," she glumly moaned. "But what if he doesn't like me," he heard her quietly say causing him to sigh. He had noticed that about her, she could go from cheery to glum in a second. Before she could stew in her sadness he scooped her up in his arms. "Like you? Are you kidding, he absolutely adores you," he reassured her.

' _It's a shame she wasn't old enough to remember. The amount of time he would spend with her._ ' "Nii-chan, what do you think Tri-nii-chan is doing right now," again her emotions had flipped, thankfully back to happy Naruto noted. "Hmm, I don't know Minusha-chan. What do you think?"

* * *

- **Daimyō's Palace** -

A figure walked with purpose through the palaces many corridors, dragging the unconscious form of someone behind them. Walking alongside them were six civilian guards. Two more guards clad in armour and armed with pikes stood in front of a large pair of doors. Upon seeing the figure wearing a violet sash around his waist coming towards them they opened the doors immediately.

"Tri-sama has returned Daimyō-sama," one of the guards announced to the rooms sole spottable occupant. There was always a minimum of two Jūnishi standing guard over the Daimyō day and night.

The Daimyō stood from his chair, "Ah Tri-kun. I trust you were successful." Tri slung his prisoner in front of him before kneeling. "Hai, Daimyō-sama. Target has been recovered alive as you requested."  
"Excellent, guards if you would escort the prisoner to his cell." Two of the guards present silently complied, each grabbing the man underneath the arm and dragged him away. "Did he reveal the location of the final target?"

"Hai, Daimyō-sama. I have their location."  
"Excellent then per our agreement, you may pursue them in a weeks' times."  
"Understood."

The Daimyō made time to get to know the personalities and abilities of his Shugonin members so he could tell there was something else on Tri's mind. "There is something else, Tri-kun?"  
"Hai. I wanted to ask your permission to send a series of shadow clones to Uzushiogakure." The surprise on the young Daimyō's face was evident but he was quickly able to put the pieces together. "You wish to see your clans former homeland?"  
"Hai, the clones would learn the layout. When my time in your service comes to an end I intend to travel there myself before returning to Konoha," Tri explained.

He thought about it a few moments, "Very well, Tri-kun. But only one clone at a time that can have no more than 5% of your total chakra reserves and only after you have captured the final target and returned them to me alive," he replied, laying out his terms. "Understood, Daimyō-sama."

"There is more?" he inquired when Tri didn't move. "Hai, Daimyō-sama. There is one more small matter."

"Which is?" Tri grinned before replying. "It's not that important, it's just that I can smell the peach shampoo Maki-senpai uses from here." The Daimyō was silent for a moment before he burst out laughing. His laughter was quickly followed by a small wave in killing intent from somewhere above them.

* * *

End Chapter

I know the chapter jumps around all over the place but I didn't want to linger too long on this filler stuff.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

A quick note, last week we passed a hundred follows and I forgot to mention it, so thank you one and all, doubly so because we also hit one hundred favourites yesterday. I hope you continue to enjoy what I write, I have a few ideas for other fics but there's currently no timescale for when I'll start them.

Artefacts and the will of others

* * *

- **North-Eastern Hi-no Kuni** -

"And there you are, right where the records said you would be," a young black and red-haired male murmured to themselves.

The object of interest was a large derelict wooden building. A damaged stone staircase fronted by a simplistic mon [ **1** ] led up to a raised central structure that was itself surrounded by a wooden walkway with battered railings travelling its circumference. The mon's two stone supporting columns barely held it up, chunks were missing and they were riddled with cracks. Nature had begun to reclaim what it lost with the buildings construction.

Part of the wooden walkway had collapsed and huge chunks of the roof were missing. ' _Hmm, looks like explosive damage and yet there is no fire damage that I can see_ '. The figure ascended the stairs, soon reaching the entrance to the building proper. The doors had been smashed in. "Even here did not escape the destruction," they quietly sighed. Not that there was any danger of being overheard.

Walking through into the structure brought him into a large open room devoid of detail. All except for a raised wooden podium that dominated the centre of the space. The platform comprised a single wooden wall, at the bottom were ornate dark coloured flames, at the top were three connecting spiral symbols. In between both lay the reason he had sought this place out.

The wall was adorned with twenty-seven masks of varying design. "Huh, this building was clearly attacked and yet all twenty-seven remain. Ah, perhaps that's why," they finished with a light chuckle. Near the base of the mask wall was a mound of what looked like ash. "Hmm, perhaps those flames aren't for decorative purposes only. The texts I found on this place made reference to the masks being defended but didn't elaborate."

He tapped an index finger against his upper lip. "So, how do I retrieve the masks without dying?"

He took out a kunai and gently threw it at the wall. As soon as it hit the wall it burst into flames. The flames burnt black as the kunai quickly lost its shape, droplets of molten steel dripping onto the floor. "Well, those flames look familiar. Good thing I made the kunai bounce back onto the stone floor too, no good if I burn the whole building down."

He pondered the words of the only complete statement he'd found in reference to this wall. ' _The wall will only abide those who's design matches its own_.'

"Design matches its own? Couldn't be that simple surely," he wondered aloud. Withdrawing a bottle of water, he emptied some of the liquid onto his hand and flicked it at the wall. It burst into small puffs of steam immediately. "Ok, so it does respond to liquids so I can try this."

Storing the water bottle again he withdrew another kunai and cut into his palm drawing enough blood that he also flicked at the wall where it stuck but didn't boil away. "Huh, so maybe it was that simple. The walls defences will not respond to Uzumaki blood. I can only imagine how complex the seals behind that must be but does it apply to the masks, are they an extension of the wall itself?"

He threw the second kunai so the blunt ring end struck one of the masks where nothing happened. "Guess not, leaves one final test." Without the slightest movement a shadow clone appeared next to him. "Yo boss, whaddya need?"

"I need you to touch the wall and not catch fire."  
"And will I catch fire?" the clone asked apprehensively. "I don't believe so but I want to be sure."

The clone didn't look very reassured by his words but nonetheless tentatively reached out and placed the palm of its hand against the wall. There was an audible sigh of relief when the clone didn't erupt in black fire. "What do ya reckon boss?"  
"I believe the wall responds to Uzumaki chakra as well as blood, across the Elemental Nations, it is unique."

The original withdrew a large storage scroll and lay it flat on the ground, fully unrolled it was nearly twenty feet in length and was split into 27 even segments. "Okay we need to do these in order, remove the very top left mask from the wall and bring it to me."

The clone did as was asked and brought the first mask to Tri who sealed it in the far left segment. He spent a few minutes writing down what information he knew. The masks name if it was known, its purpose and the dangers of using it if any.

They continued removing and cataloguing all 27 masks for hours. Some of them he knew entirely their purpose along with the pros and cons of their use, others he knew absolutely nothing. And it wasn't as if he'd be able to experiment with them. He knew that one of the unknown masks would kill the person foolish enough to wear it instantly but he had no idea which one.

He had, however, found the three masks he absolutely had to secure. The mask of the veil, The mask of designs and The mask of the bloodline. He rolled the giant scroll back up but before he stored it away in a seal on his arm he placed his most complex security seal around it, keyed to only open when his own blood and chakra were provided.

"Thank you for your help," he thanked the clone. "No problem boss," it replied before dispelling. With his cargo secured he stepped out into the open air again. He took a deep breath, "Well, guess it's time I headed home."

* * *

- **The following Day** -

Sakura's day had gone from boring to just straight up dreadful and right now she was wishing it would go back to boring. Before she and her teammates had been dispatched on their patrol duties they had been warned of a small band of missing-nin in their patrol sector and that a squad of ANBU were attempting to track them down.

And of course they'd run straight into them, they were hours from the nearest possible reinforcements and days from being relieved from their patrol duties. Even better was that there was only about an hour of daylight left.

They'd been carrying out their patrol in formation as usual when they struck. The rear-guard who's name Sakura couldn't remember had gone done immediately, a kunai embedded in their spine. And now it was only Sakura and the other Chūnin left as they carried their Jōnin commander who had several shuriken lodged in her right leg.

Sakura was desperately trying to break their pursuit, using explosive tags and smoke bombs to cover their withdrawal where ever possible but it just wasn't working. There were simply too many of them and they were experienced enough to keep track of Sakura and the rest of the team.

They just broke into a clearing when Sakura's fellow Chūnin got a pair of shuriken in their side. The three of them went down in a heap. The Jōnin screamed in agony as the shuriken in her leg were forced deeper into her flesh, the blood flow now gushing from the deep wound.

Sakura landed next to her commanding officer, she could tell the shuriken had nicked an artery. She acted quickly placing her hand on the wound, the shuriken between her middle and ring fingers as she channelled medical chakra into the flesh surrounding the wound to dull the pain. Grasping the visible half of the shuriken she pulled,

The weapon thankfully came free with little effort, her commander crying in pain again as the flow of blood only worsened. Using both her hands she pushed down hard as she tried to repair the artery before she bled out.

She spared a brief glance at her third teammate, Sakura was relieved to see he knew at least some medical Ninjutsu as he also extracted and healed the shuriken wounds. In her efforts to save a life she had momentarily forgotten that she was being pursued. It meant she never noticed the missing-nin allowing her to heal the wound.

It didn't take her long before she'd undone the worst of the damage. Luckily the artery had only been nicked and not cut all the way through, if it had she'd of bled to death before Sakura could stem the blood loss.

Sakura took a breath as she stood, her hands and forearms coated in blood, she'd saved her commanders life for now but then it dawned on her she and her teammates weren't alone, in a dozen or so trees surrounding them were the missing-nin that had been chasing them.

"Well, things could look better for us, Sakura-san," her fellow Chūnin Nishioka Sanzo quietly said as he stood next to her, a noticeable limp in his left leg, a kunai in his hand. "We need to buy some time," she quietly said to him. "What for?"  
"There's a large Chakra signature heading our way. We need to hang on until whoever it is arrives."  
"And if it's just another missing-nin?"  
"Well, then we're dead either way," Sakura bluntly replied.

"What direction?"  
"North-east-east I think."  
"Can you tell how big the signature is?"  
"Way beyond anyone else here," As she finished speaking that she spotted a small black bird land on the branch of a nearby tree. She caught the eye of the animal as they both stared at one another.

For a few seconds nothing happened but then she felt the moving chakra signature speed up, it seemed to be heading straight for them. ' _Need more time_ '.

"So who the hell are you supposed to be?" Sakura called out, hoping the leader of their little group would reveal themselves. "I wouldn't worry about names little lady, you won't survive long enough. Good job on healing your commander though," he finished. She could tell he was patronizing her. He only grinned as she gave him a narrow-eyed glare.

"Feisty one aren't ya. Brick, why don't you take care of her. I know you like em young and feisty." At his word a huge figure jumped down from a tree. ' _All muscle, no brains. Wonderful_ ' Sakura thought to herself. She just hoped his size made him sluggish as he rushed her, a huge meaty fist cocked back.

With a kunai in hand she ducked under the punch and slashed at Brick's thigh. ' _What on earth is his skin made off?_ ' she thought as the kunai only cut a few millimetres deep. It certainly wasn't because her kunai were blunt, she had sharpened them all not long ago.

Her thoughts almost cost her as she barely dodged a backhand, Brick's arm whistling past her head. Again she was able to counter with another kunai slash, again it barely broke the surface. Quickly jumping back the get some distance she tried to buy herself a few seconds to think but she got none as she was forced to roll to the side as Brick jumped into the air, rolling himself into a ball before dive-bombing back to the ground. The impact leaving a crater.

Sakura timed a few shuriken to skim over the crater just as Brick popped his head up. Unfortunately he wasn't looking at her so the shuriken struck the side of his head, one of them piercing the top of his ear, pinning it against his head.

If anything that only seemed to anger the near 7ft giant as he shot towards her again. She backed up until she was just in front of a tree. As Brick unleashed a fist aimed at her face she shunshined away leaving him with only a tree to punch. The sound of cracking and splintering wood echoed around the clearing as Brick lodged his fist up to the wrist inside the trunk of the tree.

Brick gave out a deep but loud grunt of pain as he ripped his fist back out, a sizeable slither of wood embedded between two of his knuckles. Sakura winced slightly as he yanked the wood out and threw it away, the blood running down his hand.

Seeing she had a moment she opened her senses up to find the unknown chakra signature was closing in quickly, they seemed to have sped up further. ' _I'd guess another thirty seconds or so_ '.

As Brick began charging towards her again she ran through some hand-seals, " **Suiton: Teppōdama** ," (Water Release: Gunshot). The ball of water she shot from her mouth wasn't very large but it was very fast. Brick wasn't paying close enough attention to realise the Jutsu was aimed at his injured hand.

Sakura's accuracy was bang on, the water hit the wound dead on and it packed enough of a punch to tear the wound wide open. You would have almost been able to hear the flesh on Brick's hand tearing if it wasn't for the sound being buried by the sound of bones snapping.

The pain was overwhelming as Brick skidded to a halt, dropping to one knee, his full attention on his mangled hand in silent shock. His ring and little fingers had snapped at the Metacarpal bone and were now only attached to the rest of his hand by some skin, the blood pouring out, a pool quickly forming on the ground.

Seeing her opportunity to end it Sakura moved quickly, Brick never noticed her appear behind him, a kunai in one hand, a rock in the other. She jammed the kunai into the back of his neck, again it didn't penetrate very deep but that's where the rock came in as she drove it home into the ring end of the kunai.

 ***Crack***

The sound was sickening as the blade slipped deeply between the third and fourth vertebrae. Brick went wide-eyed but felt nothing, it had killed him instantly. He didn't make a sound as he fell face forward to the ground, the only movement coming from the small twitches of his limbs.

Sakura took a deep breath before throwing the rock away. Casting her gaze across the trees," Well, who's next." The leader of the missing nin's dropped to the ground along with five others. They all had surprised looks on their faces, it was then Sakura noticed there was someone standing next to her.

"And who might you be, friend?" The latest arrival ignored the question, instead staring at Sakura, his face seemed clouded in confusion before it brightened, "Sakura-san!" he cheered, then he noticed the flak jacket, "Hey, you did it! You made Chūnin. Congratulations!"

Sakura just stared back, utterly baffled. This person had their left eye shut, a sizeable scar ran vertically down it. Their right eye, however, was a mix of green and black she'd only seen once before. "Tri-san?" she asked to which she got an enthusiastic nod in return. "Ah, you do recognise me, good."

"AHEM, I've already asked you once before, I shan't be so polite again, who are you?" the leader of the treasonous nin demanded. But again Tri ignored him, "I guess this lot attacked your patrol?"  
"Yep, killed one, injured the other two."  
"I see, any requests?"  
"Fancy leaving the leader to me?"  
"If that's what you want."

"STOP IGNORING ME!" he screamed at the two of them. "I wouldn't get cocky, it's still eleven vs two," he quickly added after calming himself. "Well, your half right," Tri replied. "Care to explain," was the smug reply. "Well, it's just you were right, there are two of us. But there are only six of you." Before he could even retort, five bodies fell out of the trees. "I believe these belonged to you," Tri calmly added.

All the bravado, all the confidence drained out of the remaining five. "Shall we wrap this up, Sakura-san?"

"Yes, I've my teammates to attend to. Sanzo-san, hold down the fort." Tri nodded before vanishing, one of the five quickly going down, a kunai jammed into their jugular.

The rest of the fight was surprisingly disappointing as far as it being a contest, Sakura was expecting the leader to put up a better fight but it hadn't taken her long to cripple him, she really wished they wouldn't beg for their lives when they realise they've been beaten. It made killing them a little awkward.

With the fight over Sakura reclaimed the kunai she'd used, the one in Bricks neck proved rather difficult to extract. Tri walked over to her after sending a clone to check on her injured teammates. "You alright?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm fine apart from being covered in blood, losing one of my teammates and this damn kunai not coming out," she said with a sigh as she finally managed to extract the weapon. "Talk me through what happened."

She spent the next few minutes taking him through the events of the past hour or two. "I can understand why you're frustrated but you shouldn't be. Yes you lost a teammate but you couldn't have prevented it, your two remaining teammates are still alive because of you. Take solace in that fact and that your fallen comrade is avenged."

Tri knelt down next the dead leader, he laid a sealing scroll flat on the ground. Channelling Fūton chakra through a kunai he decapitated him, sealing the head in the scroll he stood again. He walked back to Sakura and offered her the scroll, he explained upon seeing the confused look on her face.

"Despite my ignoring him, I know he's listed in the Konoha Bingo book. Sure he was only a B-Rank missing-nin but that's still 150,000 Ryo, you got the kill, you get the bounty." Sakura sighed before accepting the scroll. "How did you know we were here? And what happened to your left eye?" she asked after she remembered that they were in the middle of nowhere.

Instead of using words, he held his arm out. A couple seconds past and nothing happened, Sakura was about to ask what he was doing but a bird landed on Tri's arm before she could speak. "A bird?" Sakura could have sworn the Raven was glaring at her, Tri must have noticed too because he started laughing.

"Muninn-kun here is a Raven and a special Raven at that," he said, gently stroking the feathers over the bird's chest. "It's a summon?" Sakura inquired. "Yes Muninn-kun and his brother Huginn-kun are my twin summons. Muninn-kun spotted your team being harassed and informed me, that's how I found you."

"I thought all summons could talk," Sakura blurted out. **"Humph, well, others talk enough for the rest of us,** " Sakura heard in her head while Tri struggled not to laugh again. "I guess you heard that too?" she asked, already knowing the answer. "Yes, they both communicate telepathically and they're both remarkably intelligent. Makes them magnificent scouts and spies."

"And your eye?"  
"I-I'll explain on the way but we need to get your teammates to the hospital and retrieve our fallen comrade's body. It's going to take us nearing a day to get them back to the village."

* * *

 **-The following day – Konoha** -

Tri and Sakura had successfully returned to Konoha without further incident, Sakura was at the Hospital with her squad mates. They'd debrief with the Hokage later but right now Tri wanted a better view of the village he'd not seen for five years. He walked up to a wooden pole walked vertically up it to the top. He smiled as he drank the view in.

Rezano was walking home after another day at the Academy, he had begun nearly three weeks ago. His thoughts drifting to those that comprised his class. First there was Uchiha Sasuke who seemed to be as arrogant as Rezano himself although Rezano was in denial of sorts regarding his own arrogant attitude. Despite that he could tell Sasuke was talented for his age but he was utterly unapproachable socially.

Next were the rest of the boys; Inuzuka Kiba and his puppy Akamaru, Rezano had already met Kiba before the Academy since his Nii-san's were friends with Kiba's sister Hana. Next was Akimichi Choji, a quiet portly boy who really loved potato chips, Rezano had yet to see him without a pack within arm's reach.

Then there was Aburame Shino, he was a very quiet person with a fascination for bugs. Then there was Nara Shikamaru, the laziest person Rezano had ever seen, not paying attention for half their classes and sleeping through the other half.

Then came the girls of his class. First was Yamanaka Ino, an unashamed Sasuke fangirl, far more interested in her appearance than honing her craft. Next there was Nara Meshikamaru [ **2** ], Shikamaru's twin sister. She was the complete opposite of her brother, she was driven, assertive and hard-working.

Finally was Hyūga Hinata, an incredibly quiet and shy girl whose voice was never louder than a whisper, she always stuttered when she was around him as well. Rezano wasn't sure why but she intrigued him, as a result he was much nicer to her than he was to the others. That's not to say she was the only one he was nice to, he considered Kiba a friend already and he didn't want to get on the wrong side of Meshikamaru.

Those were his fellow classmates, his sensei was relatively new having only started teaching at the Academy the year before, his sensei's name was Umino Iruka, a Chūnin clad in the standard issue Konoha uniform with a large scar horizontally crossing his face.

Rezano had come to the conclusion that while Iruka-sensei was enthusiastic about teaching and came across as someone who genuinely cared about his students but it was his lectures. He got so caught up in delivering long detailed lectures that his class would simply grow bored and switch off.

Over the past year his Nii-san's influence has been changing how he acted and treated others, sometimes the change was influenced violently, either brother having lost count of how many times Naruto had backhanded or restrained him for his actions towards others, he'd even fractured his wrist once. Despite that the changes had only been minor.

Thinking of his family, Naruto and Minusha were a few feet behind him, they'd been passing the day together before collecting him after he finished at the Academy for today. His final sibling, however, was still absent. His return date was nearing a month ago and no one seemed to know where he was and his Imouto had been asking everyone, well.. It felt like she had. She asked Naruto-nii-san at least every day or two.

Almost as if by magic he heard her ask yet again. "Nii-chan, do you know when Tri-nii-chan is going to be back yet?" Naruto sighed, it frustrated him to not be able to tell his little sister what she wanted to know. Today however would prove to be different.

He was about to reply but a tall pole ahead of them stood out because it seemed to be taller than it should have been. Looking closer he could tell someone was standing atop it. He couldn't distinguish any facial features although he could tell they weren't looking in his direction, however, a light violet sash around his waist gave him away.

"Nii-chan?" Minusha asked, confused why her brother hadn't responded. He smiled, "I think I know Minusha-chan," he replied. His words also grabbed Rezano's attention and caused Minusha's facial expression to brighten. "Really? Where?" she excitedly asked. Naruto only pointed to the top of the wooden pole.

Minusha ran down the street until she was stood at the base of the near thirty-foot pole. "NII-CHAN!" she shouted up to him.

At the top, Tri, who had been looking out over the village smiled as he heard the voice call up to him. Unseen by everyone Tri cast a Genjutsu over the left side of his face, that hid only the scar, he kept his left eye shut regardless. His illusion in place he jumped down from the pole.

Minusha took one look into the green and black eye and immediately rushed to hug him with a cry of happiness. Despite how young she was at the time she remembered those eyes. "Hello Minusha-chan." Her reply didn't seem to include words instead sounding like happy squeaks.

He and Naruto locked eyes, the blonde obviously noticing the Genjutsu and gave the smallest of nods in understanding.

The next hour the four reunited siblings ended up wandering around the village for a while before they found themselves at Ichiraku Ramen, Tri telling stories the entire time. None of the four of them understood quite how they'd ended up there, no one had said a word. It said a lot about them that all four whilst moving on auto-pilot collectively ended up at a ramen stand.

But eventually it became time for Tri to report to the Hokage. It was overdue, after all, he was technically a month late reporting in.

"Hey Tou-san," Naruto said as he walked through the door, "Look who I found wandering around the village."  
"Hey Naruto-kun, who are you on abo… Well, took you long enough," Minato lightly chided as Tri followed Naruto in.

Tri cast a quick glance around the office seeing that Hiruzen and Tsunade were both present. ' _Good, I won't have to go looking for them_ '. "Apologies for my tardiness in returning, Hokage-sama. There were a few tasks I wished to see through before I came baaa…"

He wasn't quite able to finish before someone jumped on him from behind, their arms quickly wrapping around his neck. "Hey Kaa-chan," he calmed said to the woman currently attempting to piggyback him.

Kushina had spotted Naruto and Tri heading up to Minato's office and had followed them. "Don't Kaa-chan me, mister. You're late."  
"I won't be able to take your threats seriously for much longer Kaa-chan, I'm almost as tall as you." That comment earned him a playful slap on the shoulder, "Shut up," she half-heartedly replied with a pout.

The others in the room was a mixture of chuckles or poor attempts not to chuckle. Eventually they all calmed down while Kushina had yet to let go of Tri. "Where did you wish to start, Hokage-sama?"  
"Well, where have you been? you were expected back a month ago."  
"I went to Uzushiogakure."

His answer surprised many in the room, Kushina in particular. "Why did you go there, Tri-kun?" she asked, a little sadness in her voice. "Firstly I wanted to see it for myself and secondly I wanted to survey the place. You'd be amazed at what you can find when you can open the locking seals dotted around the village."

"You found something?" Hiruzen asked, "Many things Hiruzen-sama. I found the library with hundreds of still legible tomes. I've copied each and every one, sadly there were maybe thousands more that were destroyed or rendered illegible. Information in the library also led me to a multitude of Uzumaki artefacts, all of which I've secured and safeguarded."

"Do you wish to elaborate, Tri-kun?" Kushina inquired. "Not really, or at least not just yet, Kaa-chan, there are forces in this world that would flatten mountains to get their hands on some of the things I found. Others should never see the light of day. The Uzumaki clan at times dabbled in things they really shouldn't have."

Kushina leaned in close, "Do you know where the masks are?" she whispered in his ear. Covering his mouth he whispered back, "Yes, all twenty-seven are safe." Kushina nodded but neither said another word. The look on her face said this discussion was over.

Tsunade spoke next. "Why don't we move onto the Genjutsu over your face."

Tri visibly deflated slightly at her words. A quick hand-seal and the illusion melted away revealing the scar running down his left eye. Kushina gasped upon seeing it, gently running a finger along the scar. "What happened?" she quietly asked. Her question actually made Tri flush in embarrassment.

"Umm, turns out you can't see shuriken in the dark," he said. "Tri-kun, I thought your sixth sense was highly developed?" Hiruzen asked. "It is, Hiruzen-sama. It was dodging a shuriken that got me hit. I leant to the right, straight into the path of the shuriken that hit me. It cost me my left eye. Kushina furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "But I can feel the curve of an eye in your socket," she said running her finger over it again.

"I'll tell you but only if you seal the room," his voice carried a very serious tone to it. Minato turned to Naruto, "Naruto-kun, do you know what this is already?"  
"Hai."  
"Do you agree with Tri that the room should be sealed?"  
"Hai." Naruto's voice wasn't lacking in conviction which was enough for Minato. Channelling Chakra through one of his feet then into the hidden seal array on the floor underneath his desk.

In a fraction of a second the seal spread across the floor and walls insulating the room so no sound would pass beyond its walls. Tri took a deep breath and opened his eyelid. The room was a mixture of gasps and surprise. Gone was the bright Emerald Green to be replaced by red.

"You said you lost your left eye, yes?" Hiruzen asked. "I did."

"So who did that eye belong to?" Tri took another deep breath, "Whom this eye belonged to is why I asked you to seal the room. This is the left eye of Uchiha Shisui. The eye has been under Itachi-kun's protection since Shisui's death until he offered me the opportunity to wield it around two years ago. Shisui's final request to us both was to carry on his will, through his own eye felt appropriate."

"But I can't have it publically known that this is Shisui's eye. The forces that claimed Shisui's life and his right eye would not hesitate to take his left from me. Tsunade-sama, are you able to heal the scar tissue? I need to be able to pass the eye off as my own."

She walked up to him and slowly ran her finger along the scar, "The Shuriken cut into the eyelid, upper cheek and the eyebrow, the bone of the eye socket stopped it from penetrating any deeper so the scar doesn't run too deep. It will take several hours but I should be able to heal it completely."

"How do you intend to pass it off as your own eye?" Minato asked. "By using my Uchiha ancestry as a front. I will have enough Uchiha blood to awaken a single Sharingan but not enough to properly control it. I can't turn it off so I have to keep my eye closed since it's a constant drain on my Chakra."

"It's certainly plausible," Hiruzen said, "after all there has never been someone of mixed ancestry who's succeeded in awakening the Sharingan at least to my knowledge. So they've nothing to compare it against."

"What's it like to use?" Kushina asked curiously. "It's uses are surprisingly limited for me. Anything beyond thirty yards is slightly blurred and anything beyond a hundred I can barely distinguish. This limits how I can use it. And since I'm poor at Taijutsu I only use it for copying hand-seals and visual based Genjutsu."

"I've never heard of a Sharingan with anything less than crystal clear vision before," Tsunade said as she continued examining the scar. "Neither have I," Hiruzen added, "Kakashi has never mentioned having blurred vision before with his Sharingan." Tri shrugged his shoulders, "I worry that constant use will just worsen my sight so I keep my eye closed, I would prefer few knew of my flawed vision."

The room was quiet for a few moments before Minato spoke again, "Very well, Tri-kun, I imagine the Uchiha clan will try and take the eye from you so we'll need to prepare for that and I want you to drop by tomorrow and we'll sort out your duties. Anyone have anything else?"

"Actually, Minato-kun, there is one more thing," Hiruzen interrupted. "Tri-kun, why are you listed in Kirigakure's Bingo Book?"

"Ah, that. Err, a few months ago I ran across one of the seven swordsmen, well someone with one of the seven swords anyway. They were hardly a fully-fledged member, I managed to kill him after all."  
"So, hang on. You killed a wielder of one of the seven swords?"  
"Yes, hardly a diplomatic incident since I've heard none of the swords are currently loyal to Kirigakure."

"So why are you listed in the book?"  
"Because I didn't give the sword back. They tried asking nicely but I wasn't interested so they listed me," Tri chuckled.

"Which of the swords do you have?" Kushina asked. Holding his hand out a long slender blade shaped like a needle with metal wire attached at one end appeared in it. " **Nuibari** (Sewing Needle)," Hiruzen said first. "How'd the fight go?" Naruto asked. "One of my hardest but Kuriarare Kushimaru he was not," Minato, Kushina, Tsunade and Hiruzen shivered slightly at the mention of his name. "And a good thing too Tri-kun, there are few in the world who would have willing challenged him."

Tri suddenly lifted the right leg of his three-quarter pants to reveal a round scar on either side of his calf. "Still good enough to run me through with it though, by kami it's painful having the wire pulling on your muscle. Jokes on him though, the hole I put in his chest was much bigger than this."

* * *

End Chapter

Another talky chapter I know but there was some violence to satiate you all.

[ **1** ] – Mon is a generic Japanese term for gate

[ **2** ] – Meshikamaru is derived from the Japanese word Meshika, which translates as Doe (female deer) while Shikamaru is a translation of Deer. Since I aged Sakura I needed a replacement. And an intelligent, hard-working Nara girl felt like a good replacement with the aim of her being incredibly similar and yet a complete opposite.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

 **Hello all, the past week has been great for me as the author of this, the views doubled compared to the previous weeks for some reason and with it came a glut of new follows and favourites, so thank you all. Also I don't know how fics get added into communities on but we ended up in one which is cool.**

 **aj173682: Thank you for your positive words friend and don't worry we're getting there. A great deal of the romantic aspects I have planned revolve around Naruto but I had to wait until he was old enough and for the right time to introduce it into his story arc.**

Breakthroughs and Unwanted Discoveries

* * *

Naruto could only look on in amusement as Tri and Minusha both giggled at whatever childish joke Tri had made this time. Since his return the previous day the two had been near inseparable. They'd had to resort to quick words and bribery to get her to go home while himself and Tri went to see Tou-san.

But four years alongside his brother in the capital had allowed Naruto to learn how his brother worked and how to spot the warning signs, in particular that maniacal grin. He knew he had a vicious streak in combat, he was a superb killer so to see him acting so.. child-friendly.

Shaking his head Naruto left them be, Minato had reminded him of the test matches he'd be a part of to put the arena through its paces. The unconfirmed date was set for a few weeks' time so with a grin Naruto departed the house for a day's training. Something that didn't go unnoticed by Tri but he left him be.

Naruto had been working towards something for years. Occasionally the blonde would come to him or one of the other Jūnishi for advice but he'd always been vague in his questions. Tri would have been lying if he said he wasn't intrigued by what Naruto was up to but he left him be regardless.

Naruto headed through the village out towards the furthest and isolated of training fields, training ground 44. He had managed to persuade Anko to teach him how to survive within Konoha's most dangerous locale. She had taught him the law of the lawless forest. Quite simply, 'Don't Die'.

An anticlimactic piece of advice perhaps but beyond the fence that marked the outer most reaches of the forest of death it was the only advice that sufficed, for within, almost all things Flora and Fauna can kill.

Within the trees he could be assured of near absolute privacy since it was only Anko that trained there. Everyone else wasn't stupi..brave enough to enter, especially the north-eastern quadrant. Anko had stated it was 'A place only the most foolish would think to tread'.

Of course it hadn't taken Naruto long to ignore that although he quickly understood why even Anko didn't go there, everything seemed bigger, faster, stronger. For those who enjoyed dancing the dance of death or simply, fighting for your life if you preferred, it was a glorious place.

But his secret training didn't involve sticking kunai into oversized spiders or burying multi-meter long centipedes under waves of Ninjutsu. No, Naruto sought one of the quieter zones.

It didn't take him long to find a good spot, a small clearing devoid of trees. Creating a dozen clones to act as lookouts he sat on the grassy turf. For a wild forest the grass was surprisingly short and well-kempt but it was comfy to sit on and that's what mattered to Naruto since he likely wouldn't move for the next few hours.

Settling himself Naruto pulled on his chakra. By now he could combine his Suiton and Doton within a second and his applications for it had grown since his return the year before, particularly after reading through any books and scrolls he could find on Senju Hashirama. Naruto was surprised to find Hashirama was in fact a distant relative.

Deciding to warm up a little he placed his hand on the grass beneath him and let his chakra slowly seep into the ground. He could feel the the roots of the grass, further down was packed earth, some clay and the occasional rock. Spreading out he soon encountered the roots of the nearby trees. Pulling back he focused on the grass around him.

He could feel the roots of each blade, looking deeper into the root itself he willed his chakra to enter the small green plant. Even with his eyes closed he could feel the grass growing taller around him. After twenty seconds or so he stopped and opened his eyes to find himself buried up to the stomach in tall grass.

He grinned, "Never gets old." He had discovered he could manipulate living plants some time a go and he never tired of blooming flowers out of season or turning a sorry excuse for a garden into a piece of organic art.

He took back most of the chakra he'd pushed into the grass. The grass subsequently shrank back down. He repeated the process with a nearby tree which took far more chakra to grow any noticeable amount. But there was more to this than meets the eye.

Mokuton was unique compared to all other Kekkai-Genkai, it was alive so to speak. When Hashirama used Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees) he was creating a living entity. Mokuton chakra on its own didn't do anything, it was benign, it was missing a final component. But thanks to a recent discovery in a scroll Naruto believed he had figured it out.

' _I am crafting something that lives but Mokuton chakra on its own isn't alive so if I provide my own life-force. I should be able to breathe life into it'_. Since Naruto only had one way of finding out he placed both hands on the ground and began interweaving his life-force with his Mokuton Chakra which proved troublesome since the two didn't easily mix but when finally ready he allowed his life-force empowered chakra to flood into the earth.

The results were sudden and very obvious but yet surprising as plant life tore out of the ground throwing great clumps of earth into the air. The sound of the ground tearing and ripping was unique to say the least. When everything had ceased growing Naruto stood and surveyed what he'd just created, it looked nothing like the forests Hashirama was said to have raised. In fact it didn't look like a forest at all. ' _Wouldn't be me if everything went as expected I guess',_ he mentally laughed _._

For hours Naruto experimented with mixing varying levels of life-force into his Mokuton Chakra. By the end of which he was exhausted and rather thankful he could call on his Uzumaki levels of stamina.

Naruto knew he had only a few weeks to mould this into something usable. He wanted an ace card up his sleeve, he believed he was ready to reveal his Kekkai-Genkai to the world. He'd been secretive about it for a reason. Sure, while Tri's Shakuton was incredibly powerful it wasn't held in the same regard, Mokuton was both revered and feared across the Elemental Nations.

If the wrong people were to discover he possessed it before he could adequately defend himself, it may well have meant his death, which would have been.. annoying.

He returned to the village with a good idea of what he felt he would be capable of with only a few weeks to develop his new found abilities. It would be an exciting few weeks, that's for sure. First was learning all he could about his Mokuton, missions permitting then came the friendly bouts at the stadium and just a few weeks after that.. Naruto couldn't keep the smile off his face.

An Iwa contingent was scheduled to arrive about a fortnight after the friendlies were to be held. And through some political manoeuvring on Naruto's part he'd managed to get himself assigned as their liaison whilst they were in Konoha.

The events that had led to this surprise breakthrough between the two villages was thanks to the two Daimyō who'd spent the last few years breaking down the barriers between the two powers. The two leaders had become good friends but were always made uncomfortable by the barely repressed hostility between their hidden villages. The Daimyō of Hi no Kuni made a task of trying to visit his opposite number once a year which meant the Jūnishi went too.

Since the end of the third Shinobi world war both had barely interacted with one another. The conflict had killed thousands of Shinobi, Minato single-handedly killing a thousand in an act that brought the war to an end but had secured his name forever in infamy in Iwagakure.

But now, that looked like it might be about to change and while that was fantastic in Naruto's book, it was secondary and a distant second at that to the primary reason he wanted to be their Liaison. No, the real reason was because of whom Iwa would be sending as their Shinobi representative, someone with a high level of ability yet with enough political muscle behind them.

While it certainly wasn't the Tsuchikage himself, it was his son Kitsuchi which also meant his daughter would be in attendance. In was with her that Naruto's true reason lay. And Naruto knew for certain that she was coming since she herself had confirmed it.

Naruto and Kurotsuchi had been able to communicate with one another for nearly three years now thanks to Naruto's far too observant sibling who'd gifted them both one half each of a communication scroll. Naruto had no idea how it worked, the complexity of the seal designs were far beyond his knowledge but it allowed him and Kurotsuchi to communicate privately without using carrier birds so he didn't really care.

But it had been nearing two years since he'd seen her in person and he couldn't wait. Naruto had long since admitted to himself that he liked her as more than a friend but that was the trouble. He'd only admitted it to himself. Despite that the smile on his face didn't wane as he continued back home.

When he finally did return home he found Kushina occupying Minusha and Rezano before dinner. Slumping down on the sofa's, "Where's Tri-kun?" he asked. "He said he had to see Tsunade-sama," Minusha replied. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that," he said out loud. "You forgetting something? Never," Rezano joked.

Naruto narrowed his eyes at his Otouto while his Kaa-chan and Imouto giggled at his expense. "Very funny," Naruto growled, throwing in a little killing intent which had the desired effect as Rezano's grin faltered slightly. This time Naruto got a laugh at his brother's expense. The relationship between the two was greatly improved than a year earlier, really you could say the same for Rezano's relationship with his entire family.

Over the past year or so Rezano had stopped acting out, at least in private. It was almost as if he wore two faces now. The one they saw in private which was much quieter, less boisterous; He still had an arrogant streak but it was far less prominent. Whereas in public he carried a far greater level of bravado seeking to impose himself in the middle of nearly everything.

Most importantly, however, he didn't bully Minusha anymore. Ever since Naruto had broken his wrist he'd stopped. Especially after Naruto had threatened to break his other wrist, which was the one Rezano wrote with. That had been the threat, Naruto also gave him a warning, the warning had related to Tri and initially had him scoffing at such a possibility.

Then Rezano had seen how close he and Minusha had already become in less than 24 hours. Naruto's warning seemed really plausible now and he silently thanked his past self for heeding it.

 ***Flashback***

" _And if you won't heed my threat Rezano then heed this. Bully Minusha in front of Tri-kun at your own risk." Rezano scoffed before replying, "Why what's he going to do? Break my arm instead of my wrist." Naruto snorted but held a grin, "Oh no Rezano, he'll likely put you in Hospital and your stint there will not be brief."_

 ***End Flashback***

A shiver travelled up Rezano's spine at the possibility.

* * *

 **-A few hours earlier-**

Tri had finally managed to persuade Minusha to let him go, thankfully it had only taken about ten minutes to do so which was far quicker than yesterday's attempts.

He was heading to the Hospital to meet Tsunade, he had been greatly relieved to hear she could rid him of the scar on his face. He hoped after a time he'd be able to have both his eyes open again at all times. Despite what he'd said the previous day the Sharingan drain on his chakra was barely noticeable because of his substantial reserves and Uchiha ancestry.

Despite what he'd also said the day before, he knew full well why the vision was blurred at a distance but he'd only discuss that with Itachi who he'd been informed was currently out on a mission. It was a conversation he wanted to have sooner rather than later, the rate at which his eye's sight was deteriorating was a concern to him.

He walked through the corridors of Konoha's hospital with a slight scowl, he still disliked hospitals. All those plain white walls left him slightly uncomfortable, everything smelt of disinfectant, a smell that Tri hated.

Reaching the end of a corridor he raised his hand and knocked on the door. "Come in, Tri-san." He gave the Sannin a wave as he entered noticing she was wearing a surgical gown, "Not expecting anyone else Tsunade-sama?" he half-joked. The stern look he got in return was his answer. "Sit," she ordered, he quickly complied.

"How's your pain tolerance?" she asked him. "Pretty good thanks to the many things I was trained in whilst one of the Jūnishi."  
"They taught you to tolerate pain? How?"

"Yep and simply put the elder members of the Jūnishi would team up beat the shit out of you during spars. They'd have a team of medic-nin heal me then it'd be repeated. To be honest that was one of the more 'normal' things I was trained in."

"So you'll understand and be ok with the fact that I have to cut the scar open, heal it and repeat until it's gone." He silently nodded. "Ok, I'm going to give you a painkilling injection so you shouldn't feel much if anything to begin with." Tri looked uncomfortable when she said needle as he looked anywhere but at the syringe in her hand.

"Do you not like needles, Tri-san?" she asked him. "No, so get the injection over with," he bluntly replied. Tsunade couldn't help but feel slightly amused at his admission. She saw the grimace in his eye and the tensing of his hand as she pushed the needle into the skin of his left cheek.

"We'll give that a minute to set in. So if you don't like needles, are you the same with senbon?" she asked, genuinely interested. "No, Senbon are fine, it's more that you can be stuck by a needle and feel nothing that unsettles me about them."

They were both silent until Tsunade picked up the very fine and very sharp scalpel. "I'll heal blood vessels immediately so blood loss shouldn't be too bad, ok?"  
"Hai." With that she made her first incision, starting with the eyelid. Her incision was incredibly gentle, deep enough to allow her to heal out the scar but not too deep it damaged the eye underneath. Neither spoke while the legendary medic worked on the eyelid. It took nearly two hours but the scar was eventually removed from it.

"Alright, I'm going to do the eyebrow next," she informed him. "You're probably going to need a small Genjutsu over your eyebrow until it grows back," she suggested as she began trimming the hairs.

She went back to cutting and healing and the silence continued for another ten minutes. "You mentioned that your pain tolerance training was one of the more normal things you were taught," she asked. "Yeah, they didn't leave anything to chance and planned for pretty much any eventuality and I mean any eventuality."  
"Such as?"  
"Err, well. We were taught politics, sign language, how to resist seduction, espionage amongst kami only knows how many other things.

Tsunade had been about to use the scalpel again but she pulled back as she nearly dropped it. "Did I hear you correctly just now?"  
"I assume you mean the seduction stuff, yes, you heard correctly." Tri noted her facial expression was a cross of shock and annoyance. "They literally taught you how to be perverts?" she practically growled. Tri shook his head, "No, Tsunade-sama. We were taught how to resist being seduced. Down the years several male Jūnishi have been seduced which has compromised Daimyō-sama's security."

"Does Kushina know about this?" Tsunade asked with a smirk. "No and all being well she never will."

"So they removed any possibility of a Jūnishi being compromised by training you against it, if you can call it training."  
"Yep."  
"And all three of you went through this?"  
"Yep, after we'd all turned 14 all three of us were put through it. They were pretty much private desensitization lessons administered by Tayuu Geisha mistresses and their aids[ **1** ]."  
"And the female members?"  
"Their training wasn't as extensive but yes they were trained to."

Tsunade could barely believe what she was hearing, Tri was one of few people she'd actually believe wasn't bullshitting her on something like this. She was also adept at knowing when someone was lying but his facial expression gave no such hints, "I can't quite believe I'm hearing this."

"Imagine then our reactions after we found out. I've never seen Itachi blush before and because of it no one ever will again. Tea ceremonies, flirting, massages, music, sex. Hell we were even made to remember every subtle little nuance a woman could conceivably make."  
"Wait, they actually taught you how to have sex?"  
"Pretty much but that was handled solely by the aids. And only after my Mistress felt I could be trusted to be alone with her two aids. Tayuu Mistresses don't tolerate any bullshit whatsoever. Mine knew acupuncture so unless I wanted to lose the use of my arms for an entire day.."

Tsunade was utterly gobsmacked by what she was hearing, she hardly even noticed when she asked another question. "How on earth do they even consider such 'training' complete?" She wished she hadn't asked because he quickly answered. "After I could keep both aids entertained to the point that they didn't want to leave my quarters for at least twenty-four hours."

He spared her a brief glance and had to stifle a laugh. "Are you ok, Tsunade-sama? You look a little green. If it helps at all that twenty fours was a test of everything they'd taught us, which was far more than just sex. I think my two would have been the death of me if it were."

She never responded but over the next few minutes the green tint to her face faded. "You know, you got to live what Jiraiya would consider a dream come true." Her patient snorted, "And that's why it will forever remain a dream for him. As I said the Tayuu have zero-tolerance for the slightest misdemeanour, especially for people like Jiraiya."

"Ha!" she laughed, "Good to know. But Tri-san, outside of this room, this conversation never happened," she warned him. Again Tri laughed, "What conversation, Tsunade-sama? But remember, you were the one who asked." He didn't laugh again as she picked up the scalpel again and gave him a menacing narrow-eyed glare. With him shut-up she set back to work.

Over the prior couple hours and the hours that followed Tri was rather glad for the desensitization training he received since Tsunade had a habit of leaning her exceptionally large chest against his arm and shoulder as she worked on his scar. But as late afternoon began to transition to late evening she finished and as she cleaned the blood from her hands Tri stood in front of a mirror admiring her work. He couldn't see any discolouration or feel any change in skin texture.

"Brilliant work, Tsunade-sama. I can't see anything that would indicate a scar," to which she scoffed. "Yes, yes, alright. You're the best medic-nin in the world for a reason."  
"Of course I am and don't you forget it," she triumphantly declared. "What's this Tsunade-sama, are you boasting," he teased. "Shut up Gaki," she replied causing them both to laugh.

"Everything alright with the eye?" she asked with her back still facing him while he was still looking in the mirror. He opened his left eye, the three tomoe spinning. "Yeah, everything seems fine," he replied. The slight distortions on the very periphery of his vision reminding him of his concerns however.

A few moments later he thanked her again and bid her a good evening before hopping out the window. He visibly relaxed as he landed on the ground, glad to finally be out of the hospital. He quickly cast the Genjutsu over his eyebrow before he forgot and moved in the direction of the training fields, he hadn't done any training today. He couldn't remember the last time he went a day without any whatsoever and he had no interest in starting now.

* * *

- **Uchiha Compound** -

"Fugaku-sama, the weekly report you requested," Uchiha Yashiro said quietly after entering Fugaku's office. "Excellent, Yashiro-san." He quickly scanned the document handed to him. As quietly as he had entered Yashiro moved to stand at the side of the room.

Fugaku finished reading, placing the paper down on his desk he spun around in his chair and stood to look out of the window with the sun already descending in the sky. ' _All the pieces move closer, we are nearly ready. It has to be soon, we can't afford to wait much longer._ '

While his dedication to the plan was absolute, there were a few loose ends that concerned him. Predominantly how to combat the Hokage family. How to defeat the Yellow Flash and the Akai Chishio no Habanero, perhaps the most powerful duo in Konoha. That wasn't even taking into account their two eldest children. He was frustrated to hear of the adopted one's return the previous day.

He would be watching the test matches at the Chūnin stadium with great interest, how good the two eldest sons proved to be might necessitate bringing the plan's timeline forwards. They couldn't afford them the time to grow yet stronger. He already knew a fair amount about Naruto but almost nothing about Tri.

"Yashiro-san, I want a few of the clans quieter members to learn what they can about Minato's adopted son. He's too great an unknown factor in this."  
"It will be done, Fugaku-sama. Shall I order similar for Naruto as well?" Fugaku thought a moment, they already had a great deal of information on the blondes skill-set but little on his mentality. "Yes but urge caution and watch both from afar."  
"Very well."

* * *

End Chapter

[ **1** ] – The Tayuu were the highest class of Yūjo ("Play Women"). They were a combination of actress and Prostitute.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Prying Eyes

 **Guest: Thank you kind reader! I'm glad your enjoying it. =D**

* * *

Kushina leant back in her chair and let out a sigh of frustration. Spread out across the dining table was the paper documentation of what would become her latest attempt to get the Uzumaki clan officially established in Konoha. But no matter how she worded it, it was just a rehash of her previous attempts. In just over a month's time she'd be back in front of the entire council with Minato silently wished her well from his council seat.

Of those who had seats on the council she had the support of Minato, Hiruzen, Inuzuka Tsume, Yamanaka Inochi, Akimichi Chōza and one or two of the civilian council members. Arrayed against her were the three elders Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, clan heads Uchiha Fugaku, Hyūga Hiashi and the remaining civilian council members.

She knew she'd get the support of the Nara clan if she just had one of the clan icons, objects that declared their wielder as the undisputed leader of the clan. If she had one of them, then the elders would have little choice but to support her, Hiashi would change as well and would likely bring some of the civilian members with him. That would be enough.

She felt a hand gently placed on her shoulder, "Hey Kaa-chan." Raising an arm she placed a hand of her own on top of his. "Hi Tri-kun," she replied. "What you up to, Kaa-chan?" he inquired, taking note of the multitude of paper sheets on the table and just as many scrunched up pieces of paper that had formed a small mound around her chair.

"My next attempt to turn our family name into a true clan is coming up soon." Tri's hand on her shoulder squeezed slightly, "When is it?"  
"About five weeks or so."  
"What, around your birthday?"  
"The day before it actually," she said in surprise, only realising herself after he'd asked.

She couldn't see his face but Tri wore a wide smile, "Remind me the day before, I'll go with you."  
"Are you sure?" she asked, "You've never shown interest in politics before."  
"True Kaa-chan. But as your named heir I'm going to need to learn Konoha politics eventually."  
"Alright then if you think you can show enough patient in the presence of some of Konoha's most anachronistic members, both civilian and Shinobi."  
"That bad?" Tri asked with a wince. "You have no idea," she replied with a sigh.

"It'll mean you'll be in the same room as Danzo too," she added. She felt the hand on her shoulder tighten and tense up at hearing Danzo's name. She turned her head in time to see the flash of anger on his face, the flicker of hatred in his sole open eye. But as quick as it appeared it was gone again. "Don't worry Kaa-chan, this is too important for you, I'll behave," he said with a small wry smile.

"I see Tsunade fixed you scar up nicely," Kushina noted even though Tri still held his left eye closed. "Yeah she did fantastically, not that that's much of a surprise, she is Senju Tsunade after all," Tri laughed. "Oh and before I forget, what are you doing tomorrow?" he asked her. "Err, nothing much why?"  
"It's just, I was wondering whether you could show me exactly where I was found that night. There's something I want to put to the test." He saw the intrigued look on her face, "I'll explain tomorrow Kaa-chan, it might well lead nowhere."  
"Ok," she replied with a few short nods.

* * *

* **Thud Thud Thud** *

Rezano groaned and rolled over in his bed as his Kaa-chan banged on his door. "Come on Rezano-kun, time to get up."

"Five more minutes he grumbled. "No, not five more minutes. If you aren't out of bed in the next five seconds I'm going to break the Jutsu out," Kushina warned. Again Rezano groaned but he was out of bed within the five seconds time limit. Kaa-chan was very good with Suiton Ninjutsu, the last time he'd not listened she'd dumped water all over him.

Dressing was followed by a quick stop to the bathroom after which he headed downstairs. Walking into the family dining room he noticed the small mountain of paper Kaa-chan had spread across the table the previous night were now gone. He had barely sat in his seat when breakfast was placed in front of him. "Thanks Kaa-chan," he said before diving in.

Kushina had gone back into the kitchen but turned to look back at the dining table. It was the first time all four of her children had eaten together in years. She leaned against the door frame and just watched. Watched as Tri poked fun at Naruto by reminding him that he used to eat in the manner Rezano currently was. I.e. Shovelling as much of his food into his mouth in one go.

There wasn't much time for her to enjoy the scene however. Naruto had a mission, Minusha had her lessons with Shizune and Rezano had the Academy. In a matter of minutes it was over.

Rezano shut the door behind him, Naruto had left with him and bid farewell before vanishing in a Shunshin. ' _Gah, I really need to learn that_ ' he thought to himself as he set off at a run for the Academy.

Quickly leaping up a few smaller structures he was quickly on the rooftops, leaping from one to the next. The way Rezano travelled had changed the day Naruto had shown him the 'Shinobi Highways' across the tops of buildings. It was quicker than walking the streets and served as a good warm up too.

It was only a few minutes before he touched down in front of the Academy. Students milled around outside, delaying their arrival in class until the last few moments. Rezano had to admit, he used to do the same but that was in the past. The Rezano of the present walked straight to his class and quickly took his seat.

Leaning back on the rail seats the class had he closed his eyes. He fidgeted slightly to get comfortable as the hilt of one of the two kunai on his waist dug into his hip. The two unique kunai were a gift from his parents at his last birthday. They were shaped similarly to Tou-san's Hiraishin kunai but were elongated, each had a latch on the end that when in use were attached to one end of narrow metal chains, the other end attached to straps around his wrists.

They were an ingenious piece of design. The straps around his wrists had a storage seal woven into them, the chains were stored within the seal. The chain would extend as Rezano needed it and had a maximum length of 10ft. It meant he could switch between close quarters and distance combat without having to worry about getting tangled up in the chain as the seal also pulled the chain back in when unneeded.

He brought out of his light doze by the voice of someone sitting down next to him. "Good morning, Rezano-kun." He opened a single eye to see Hinata sat next to him. "Good morning, Hinata-chan," he smiled.

Their sensei Iruka had put a seating plan in place after the first two weeks, those who were loud and disruptive were moved away from one another, the same happened for the quieter. And Rezano had to admit it had been a success, the class's work rate had improved since. Rezano who had originally shared a table with Kiba and Sasuke now instead shared with Kiba and Hinata.

And simply put he much preferred the company of the shy Hyūga over the arrogant Uchiha, especially since she didn't stutter or go bright red in his presence anymore. Now she was one of his closest friends along with Kiba.

Speaking of Kiba, they both heard the high pitched yaps that signalled the imminent arrival of Akamaru, Kiba's canine companion and where one was the other would be too. The two were inseparable as was the case for all Inuzuka and their canine counterparts. Kiba was a brash and impulsive boy who tended to act first and think second.

But conversely it meant it was he was never boring to be around as the young Inuzuka bid them both good morning.

Looking at the other desks starting at the back, one would find Aburame Shino, perhaps the only person in the class who could challenge Hinata for the title of the quietest person, that was if you discount brooding Uchiha who disliked talking to anyone. Not that Shino was unpleasant to be around, he just seemed to speak only when necessary and was very much a follower of 'If you've got nothing to say then say nothing'.

The third member of that desk balanced them out since Yamanaka Ino was one of the louder class members. Rezano rarely interacted with the platinum blonde haired girl so he didn't know much about her but she was a Sasuke fangirl, something that amused Rezano greatly.

The final three students had known each other since they were very young. That was pretty obvious for two-thirds of them since they were siblings. The Nara twins were alike in so many little ways but yet completely different. Shikamaru was lazy and utterly devoid of personal motivation whereas his sister Meshikamaru was incredibly hard-working and very driven, she was by far the best Kunoichi in the class and one of the best outright alongside himself and Sasuke.

The final member of the nine was Akimichi Choji, a lifelong friend of the Nara twins. He was a polite boy never far away from some sort of foodstuff.

A few minutes went by and more of Rezano's fellow students filtered in before their sensei Iruka appeared through the door. "Morning class," he called out, bringing their conversations to an end, "Since it's a nice morning I've decided to mix things up today, we're going to leave the lecture till later and do the sparring and training now. So all of you outside sharpish."

* * *

"Kaa-chan, I'm stepping out for a bit. We'll do what I mentioned last night when I get back, ok?" Tri called out across the dining room into the kitchen. Kushina poked her head around the door frame, "Ok," she said with a smile before vanishing again.

Tri lightly chuckled before heading out. He quickly began jumping from rooftop to rooftop. His destination was the market quarter. He hummed to himself, the market quarter was nearly on the other side of the village, or at least the place he wished to visit was. He relaxed and opened up his senses to his surroundings, while he certainly wasn't a sensor he could detect chakra signatures and right now there were two behind him.

He turned his head slightly but couldn't see much, he could make out two figures jumping across the rooftops but stuck to the shadows as much as possible. ' _And who might you two be_ ' Tri wondered. As the minutes went by it became clearer that they were tailing him, despite that Tri was unconcerned. If he wanted to lose them he could, right now he was more interested in their identities.

Dropping down into the street he entered the store. He only came here for one thing but he took his time and browsed and ended up getting several more things. A new set of kunai for training and a kunai sharpening stone. The kunai normally would normally serve as combat kunai to most Shinobi but his time in the Jūnishi meant he was paid fairly substantially which was beneficial since he'd developed a preference for chakra metal implements which were expensive. With his two unexpected purchases in hand he made for the front desk.

"Greetings Shinobi-san," the young cashier said to him. "Hi," Tri replied. "Just these?" she asked him. "Do you have any sword restoration kits?" he inquired. "How damaged is the blade?" she asked in return. "The blade itself is ok, just some minor oxidisation on the surface, it needs to be re-sharpened and the wooden scabbard needed a new layer of lacquer as well as some repainting."

"Is the hilt ok? And do you have a budget you want to stick to?"  
"Yes, the hilt is undamaged thankfully and I'm not fussed over price." The cashier thought a moment before lifting a single finger, "One moment," she said before vanishing into the storeroom.

She wasn't gone long before reappearing, a small box in hand. Placing it on the desk, "From what you've said, it sounds like the blade is intricate and detailed. This has everything you've asked for and more.

She tallied the cost and Tri paid before they bid each other farewell. He sealed his purchases away as he stepped back out into the street. Feeling the two chakra signatures atop the nearby buildings he rolled his neck, getting two quiet but satisfying clicks. ' _Let's see if you can track me through training ground 44,_ ' he thought with a grin.

With that he proceeded to run them around the village for another half hour before entering the forest of death from the west, the furthest point from the village. He tore through the forest at speeds barely perceivable by most only to be halted by a dramatic change in scenery. "What in the world happened here?" he said aloud. What looked like a clearing had undergone a dramatic change, the grass had been churned and thrown around in huge chunks and the forest's trees were joined by trees that didn't belong in a forest.

Shrugging his shoulders he continued towards the eastern entrances to the forest.

* * *

The spars continued. As Rezano had expected Meshikamaru had quickly dominated the other girls in the class although he could see signs of improvement in Hinata. He could see the lavender-eyed girl had talent but she was so lacking self-belief, there had been some improvement in her mentality but there still much to be done.

"Hinata-chan, do you have to exclusively use your family's Taijutsu style?" he asked her as she sat on a bench next to him, a hand either side of her while Meshikamaru began sparring against Kiba and Akamaru. "Erm, not technically, but no one in the Hyūga clan uses anything other than **Jūken** (Gentle Fist) Taijutsu."  
"Really? No Ninjutsu or Genjutsu?" he asked staring at her, his look changed to disbelief when she shook her head.

"So what happens when you come up against someone who can counter or avoid your Taijutsu? You have nothing else to fall back on," he noted. Hinata's head dropped slightly, she knew he was right, "It's only made worse by my not being very good at Jūken," she sighed.

She was startled when she felt a hand on top of hers, she looked to her side to see it was Rezano's, he was giving her a warm smile. "Don't worry Hinata-chan," he reassured her as she started to blush. "Both my brothers are back now, I'm sure one of them would be able to figure out what would suit you."

She returned his smile, she'd met Naruto briefly a few times but had never met Tri, she knew next to nothing about both of them but had heard they were both among the strongest of their generation.

* * *

"Ready to go, Kaa-chan?"  
"Yep," she cheerily replied. Unbeknownst to her Tri created a shadow clone and had it go train far away from where the original would be going. ' _See how long it takes them to notice it's a Kage Bunshin_ ' Tri chuckled to himself. "Well come on then! You're the one that wanted to go," Kushina shouted up the stairs to him.

He couldn't help but laugh as he shunshined downstairs. His punishment for laughing was a playful kick out the door. After Kushina had shut and locked the door she directed them both, "Come on then, we're going to the plateau beyond the Hokage monument.

The two of them moved quickly and in silence. Kushina was pushing them both pretty quickly but her adopted son looked utter unfazed at the pace she was setting. ' _I dread to think how fast he might be now_.' She decided to take the shortest route and run straight up the cliff-face. Before long they'd quickly scaled the vertical rock face and were gone into the trees beyond.

Kushina slowed up to a walk, "Now we pretty much just left the final battle-site alone after the Kyūbi was resealed. So we're looking for an open space with deep gouge marks in the ground."

"Would Nature have not just reclaimed the space by now? It's been ten years," he asked her. She blew out a breath, "I suppose a great deal of it would have by now but we should still be able to spot the area, especially where the Kyūbi tried digging its way under my adamantine chains."

With that, the silence returned. It took nearly twenty minutes but eventually they found a sudden elevation change in what might pass for a clearing. The dip in the terrain now had a layer of grass smoothing it out and there was a circle of young trees around the perimeter.

"This looks it Tri-kun, now what are we looking for?" Tri's answer came in the form of a large scroll appearing in his hands. He lay the scroll on the ground and began unrolling it. "As you already know Kaa-chan, I have no clue as to my past before appearing in this clearing. But since we know I'm of Uzumaki descent it gave me an idea. The historical ties between the Uzumaki bloodline and Fūinjutsu go back to before records began. And we know Space-time techniques are possible because the Hiraishin exists."

"You think a space-time seal brought you here?" She queried. "That is my theory yes, and now that I have these I can put it to the test. Kaa-chan, meet the 27 masks of the Uzumaki clan." Kushina couldn't help the wide smile that spread on her face. These masks represented one of the clans greatest achievements. "Do you know what they all do?" she asked as she noticed the text written on the scroll.

"I don't, I only know the purpose of around half of them. And experimenting is.. unwise."  
"Why unwise?"  
"Because one of them will kill the wearer instantly but I don't know which one it is," he explained, ending with a laugh. Kushina shook her head in amusement, "That's a pretty good reason. So which mask are you looking for?" As she finished speaking Tri stopping unrolling the giant scroll. "This one," he answered as he placed a thumb on a small circular seal. A puff of smoke and a mask appeared in his hands.

"This, Kaa-chan, is the Mask of Designs, when worn it allows you to see every Fūinjutsu seal ever placed regardless of the time that has elapsed, so long as the surface it was written on remains intact." Kushina was taken aback by how powerful the mask relatively speaking was.

"So it's similar to wearing a pair of glasses? It allows you to see things you otherwise couldn't without." she wondered aloud. "Yeah, that's a good way of summarizing it. Now let's see if we find anything," he quietly declared as he placed the mask on his face.

* * *

"Alright class, before we move on to today's lecture I was wondering whether you'd like me to try and get my hands on one of the villages Shinobi every now and then to help make these lectures more interesting." The murmurs Iruka got from the class seemed positive. "You all seem to like that idea so I'll see if I can grab an active serving Chūnin or Jōnin every few weeks."

"Ok then. Today we're going to start on applying chakra control theories to actual exercises." And Rezano couldn't help but zone out within moments, he had solid control of his chakra, something that had taken a good while to learn since he had so much chakra to work with.

He had more than his parents, in particular his mother. He had more than Naruto, he even had more than Tri and he was well known for having very large chakra reserves. It meant his chakra control was horrendous for longer than Rezano cared to remember. He'd struggled to create a bog-standard Bunshin, despite calling on the smallest amount of chakra he possibly could he still overcharged it, resulting in a frail sickly looking thing.

To get around it, he had to split the chakra being used up, so he actually ended up summoning several Bunshin at once. It was a strange 'reverse' from the norm. Most students would use how many Bunshin they can summon at once as a measure of progress. But for Rezano it was how few he could summon, the lowest he currently could go was three.

So as Iruka-sensei finished his explanation and the class began trying the exercise out, Rezano went through the motions since it was one he was already familiar with. Looking up at the clock, there was a bit under two hours of the day left. He ended up spending it helping Hinata and Kiba.

* * *

"Think I've found something," Tri called out to a thoroughly bored Kushina. "Thank Kami," she groaned as she pulled herself to her feet. They'd been here for nearly an hour. Kushina hurried over to where Tri's voice had originated from. He was some 10-15ft into the treeline. She found him looking at the ground next to a few of the many young trees.

"What can you see?" she asked as she knelt down next to him. "Look for yourself," he replied, handing her the mask. She carefully placed it over her face and the ground in front of her lit up in a multitude of light blue lines. She couldn't hold back a gasp. She looked over the array designs that were so intricately designed, the interlocking patterns and immense complexity.

"Tri-kun, I-I."

"I know, this seal design is unlike anything I've ever seen. At a guess I've never seen 90% of these array designs before. This is beyond me," he admitted. "I've never seen most of these either but our problems are compounded by these damn trees. The growth of these trees from seedling to sapling to tree had disturbed the ground and destroyed a great deal of the seal. Judging from the curvature of what remains, I'd estimate we're looking at perhaps a quarter of the full seal."

Tri couldn't help the quiet growl of frustration, he was staring the potential answer to many questions. Answers he may be denied by a tree of all things. He felt a supportive hand on his right shoulder, "Do you want to copy what remains?" Tri could only silently nod.

* * *

"Another day at the Academy done," Rezano managed to say through a yawn. His comment got a giggle out of Hinata and a shake of the head from Kiba. "You seem to be spending more and more time helping us than doing the exercises yourself," Kiba pointed out as they walked across the Academy grounds towards the gate. "Yeah, I know but I've either already learnt it or I know something better."

"Naruto nii-san was telling me about his Academy days not long ago and it was the same for him. But instead of sleeping through everything like Shikamaru-san does he suggested I help you guys. That way I'm still using my time effectively," he explained. "Well, I-I appreciate the help you give me Rezano-kun," Hinata thanked him. He gave her a smile in return.

"Hey Rezano-kun, isn't that your brother," Kiba asked, his arm pointing at a black and red-haired teenager leaned against a wall. "Yeah, it is," Rezano replied, surprised to find him here. The three Academy students walked up to the fifteen-year-old. "Tri nii-san, what's up?" Rezano asked, noticed the slight look of frustration on his face. That look disappeared almost immediately upon hearing Rezano's voice.

Opening his right eye he looked down at the three of them. "Hey Imouto, Kiba-kun," he looked at the female member of their trio. "And you would be Hyūga Hinata," he finished. "How do you know us?" Kiba asked him. "Well apart from the cheek markings and your canine companion your sister Hana is one of my oldest friends. And I know of Hinata-san because Rezano speaks very highly of both of you."

He chuckled at the bashful look on Rezano's face while the tint of Hinata's cheeks took on a reddish hue. Rezano recovered quickly, "Fair enough, it's good timing anyway. Tri nii-san, do you think you could help Hinata-chan?" Tri raised an eyebrow, "Care to elaborate Rezano-kun."  
"It's her family's Taijutsu style, I don't think it suits her."  
"What makes you think it doesn't suit her?"

His younger brothers request had gotten his interest. "From what I've seen of Jūken it is both rigid in style but flows well. It's the rigid aspect I don't think suits her, I think she'd be much better off with a more fluid style that allowed her better use of her natural flexibility. I know that probably doesn't make much sense but I don't know how to explain it."

"It is kind of, but don't worry I understand what you're trying to say. Regardless that's a rather detailed analysis Imouto. Do either of you have anywhere else to be for the next few hours?" he asked them both. Both shook their heads, "Kiba-san, your free to come along too if you wish." The Inuzuka nodded.

As Tri led them towards one of the training grounds Rezano looked around the street and noticed two figures lurking on the rooftops. Shrugging his shoulders he disregarded it.

* * *

- **Training Ground 17** -

"Alrighty then, Hinata-san, I want you to spar with Rezano-kun. You do all the attacking and Rezano will only block. I need to see your Taijutsu form." Both slid into their stances and the spar began.

It was nearly twenty minutes before Tri called them to a halt and had them sit down on the grass. "Right then, I think you're right Imouto. Jūken doesn't seem to suit her, the patterns of movement instead of allowing her body to flow seem to inhibit her. But to not use Jūken would be wasting her Byakugan."

"What would you r-recommend Tri-san?" Hinata timidly asked him. Tri silently stood and walked towards Hinata, kneeling down in front of her. "No need to feel down about it Hinata-san, everyone's different, just because something works for one person doesn't mean it'll work for another. As for what I think you should do. I think that instead of making yourself adapt to suit Jūken, you should make Jūken adapt to suit you. I can help you get started but I'd suggest Rezano-kun bring Naruto-kun in to help."

"Why get Naruto-kun's help when you're already here?" Rezano queried. "Because Naruto has experience in making a hybrid Taijutsu style but mainly because my Taijutsu is rubbish," he admitted with a laugh. "Really?" asked a baffled Kiba. "Uh huh," said Tri with a nod. "My Ninjutsu and Fūinjutsu are my best fields and I'm good with Genjutsu but I've always been rubbish at Taijutsu."

Tri turned his gaze back to Hinata who looked as if she couldn't quite believe his admission, "So don't worry Hinata-san, there are fields that even those of us given the title of prodigy struggle in. There are plenty of people who can help you, don't feel like you're on your own, because in Konoha, you never are."

"So if you're bad at T-taijutsu, how do you combat it?" Hinata asked. "You can be the greatest Taijutsu master in the world, but if you can't catch me you can't hit me. I worked on my speed to such a degree that it's near impossible for most to keep up with me. If they're busy trying to simply keep up then it allows me to dictate the battle."

"Rezano-kun, has Naruto-kun reorganised his room since he came back, specifically his bookcases?"  
"Err, I don't think so," Rezano's voice was laced with confusion. An exact copy of Tri appeared next to him, "Could you see if you can find Naruto's book on the Water Taijutsu style." With a nod the clone was gone.

"Wait, since when can a Bunshin do.. well anything?" Kiba said aloud. "It's a K-kage Bunshin," Hinata answered. "Spot on, Hinata-san, Kage Bunshin are a far more advanced version of clone, brilliant for scouting and training."  
"Training?" Rezano asked. "Yep, everything your clone experienced, everything they learn is transferred back to you when they dispel. Let's say you train Genjutsu, Ninjutsu or Fūinjutsu for an hour but had four clones do the same then when you dispel them you've accumulated five hours of training in one hour. You can't really use it to train Taijutsu though unfortunately."

"So why isn't everyone taught this if it's so good for training?"  
"Because it's listed as an A-Rank Kinjutsu Otouto. It takes a large amount of chakra to create even a single clone. Most Shinobi would put themselves in the hospital with chakra exhaustion if they tried."

Their conversation was interrupted by the return of Tri's clone. It's sudden reappearance startled the three students with Hinata nearly jumping several feet into the air despite being sat down. The two Tri's nodded to one another as the clone handed the original a small book before dispelling.

"Give me a minute," Tri said as he began reading, quickly. It took less than five minutes before he'd finished reading the book. "Here you go Hinata-san," he said handing the book to her.

"W-won't you need it as well?" he shook his head, "No, photographic memory means I know the entire book already. Water Style is what's known as a Foundation style, it provides a base for you to build on. The stances and movements are fluidic in style and rely on having a high level of flexibility, you can transpose the techniques of Jūken on top of it. Shall we begin?"

* * *

- **Several Hours Later** -

"Thank you for helping Hinata-chan today Tri nii-san," Rezano suddenly said. The two of them had been walking in silence since leaving the training ground.

"Your welcome Otouto but remember I can't help her much more with Taijutsu, you'll need to ask Naruto-kun. Also why is she so.."  
"Timid?" Rezano asked, beating Tri to the punch. "Yes, she so lacking in self-confidence." Rezano sighed, "I don't know Nii-san but I think it may have something to do with her family."  
"Hmm, that's plausible. The Hyūga clan are a rather cold bunch. Either way keep chipping away, you seem to bring out the best in her."

Rezano nodded his understanding while looking at his older brother. Then out of the corner of his eye he saw movement on a rooftop behind them. "Nii-san, I think we're being followed," Rezano whispered putting his hand in front of his mouth.

"Don't worry I know."  
"Who are they?"  
"I don't know but they've been tailing me all day."  
"Are you not going to do anything about it?"  
"Nah, I already know I can lose them. Besides a clone of mine is already tailing them," he replied with a smirk, Rezano snorting with laughter.

They continued walking home talking of various things when Tri put a hand on Rezano's shoulder bringing them both to a halt. "Nii-san why have we…" Tri's facial expression stopped his words. Tri's serious expression was slowly morphing into a grin.

"Hello again old friend," he seemingly said to nobody. Rezano was about to ask who he was talking to but a figure dropped down into the street in front of them, clad in the outfit and mask of an ANBU.

"Rezano-kun, are you ok to walk the rest of the way of your own? I need to have a conversation with the ANBU here." Rezano looked confused but didn't say anything as he walked away without complaint. Tri walked up to the ANBU, "Our former training ground," was all he said before vanishing in a Shunshin. The ANBU following only moments later leaving two rather frustrated spies.

* * *

- **Training Ground 3** -

The ANBU arrived at the training ground to find Tri already present. "Hello, Itachi, good to see you again," Tri said to the masked man who removed his mask before speaking, "Good to see again too, Tri."  
"I was beginning to wonder whether you were avoiding me," Tri joked as Itachi leant against a nearby tree, the Uchiha heir rolled his eyes.

"How's the eye?" Itachi asked after a few moments of silence. Tri sighed, "The second use had severely limited my long distance vision. Anything beyond a hundred feet is a blur." Itachi was alarmed, "You've only used it twice and the visual damage is already manifesting?"

"Yes, I estimate six, maybe seven more uses will extinguish the eye's light entirely."  
"This is of concern, Tri. That eye will be needed in the near-future. What about the recharge time?"  
"The first time it was 329 days, the second time was 354 days. Did you ever inform Hokage-sama of the idea we've been concocting?"  
"No, I decided to wait until you returned."  
"Then let us begin the gears turning, there is much that needs to be done."

* * *

End Chapter

Next chapter will see a return to the violence as the test matches take place. Welcome to all the new follows and favourites. We're quickly approaching 20,000 views in this fic which is simply awesome! Thank you!


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

 **BalthazarTheAngel** : Thank you! glad your enjoying it. As for your question, Tri and Itachi won't have pairings per-say in the manner that Naruto and Rezano will, at least not yet anyway. There will be some romance based stuff for them but it'll be more fling orientated than long-term relationships. I'm apprehensive about saying much more incase I accidentally leak long-term spoilers.  
But there some Itachi centred chapters in the near future that'll begin to delve into it.

The Test Begins

* * *

"You ready, Naruto-san?"  
"Hai," the blonde answered as he stood. He'd confined himself in a dark room for the past five minutes to get himself in the zone. He was first up in the trio of test matches Konoha would host today.

The past few weeks had been busy for him. It felt like he'd barely had a moment to catch his breath, between his missions, personal training and helping the young Hyūga heir. He remembered all the little frustrations that came with designing his own hybrid Taijutsu style but also the immense satisfaction that came with its completion, plus now he was able to play with the Jūken.

Then there was his training of Mokuton, each time he became faster, more efficient. But now the time for training was over, at least for today.

Naruto followed the Chūnin sent to retrieve him out of the darkened room. He could begin to hear the crowd that had amassed for today. The public had been informed of today's events a fortnight prior and it had been the talk of the village since.

Their opponents would be experienced Jōnin, Naruto and Itachi knew they'd be facing the same people who oversaw their Jōnin exams which meant Tri's opponent was still unknown.

The corridor ended with a staircase that descended downwards to the arena floor. "Please proceed to the arena floor Naruto-san, your proctor and opponent already await you," the unknown Chūnin informed him. He gave him a nod of thanks before beginning down the stone steps.

Naruto had to admit, seeing a structure made entirely from stone felt bizarre in Konoha since everything else incorporated wood into the construction. The arena wouldn't look out of place in Sunagakure but in the Leaf it looked alien.

At the bottom of the steps was another short corridor that exited out on the arena floor, it was an exit bathed in sunlight, it was just past noon with the sun at its highest point in the sky. The arena was already a tall structure from the outside with high sidewalls separating the audience from the combatants on the inside. The arena floor itself was dug about thirty foot into the ground, perhaps it would best be described as a pit.

Naruto knew that Kumo's stadium was designed in a similar fashion but the far wider circumference made it less noticeable.

Naruto rolled his shoulders as he emerged from the corridor, feeling the blade over his shoulder move with them. He'd timed his arrival well since Genma who was serving as Proctor had just finished the introduction.

Across from him was his opponent for today, Captain Yamato. Naruto couldn't help but feel that the choice of Yamato was an ironically appropriate one since Yamato was the only known Shinobi in Konoha who could use Mokuton, for now..

"Ah perfectly timed Naruto-kun," Genma said to him, "You know me Sensei," Naruto joked. Genma mirthfully shook his head as he jumped back. "Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, ready?"  
"Hai."  
"Yamato, ready?" The ANBU silently nodded, not taking his eyes off of Naruto. "Very well, Hajime!" Genma shouted

Neither fighter wasted a moment as they rushed towards one another, Yamato drew a kunai in each hand while Naruto drew the tantō sheathed above his tailbone. The sparks flew as the two blades clashed, the sound of grinding metal filling their ears.

Yamato held the tantō with one kunai and swung for Naruto's head with the one in his free right hand. With both his hands occupied Naruto aimed for one of Yamato's knees with a kick. He found his mark and knocked Yamato off balance forcing him to halt his kunai swing. The blonde took advantage and with their weapons still grinding together he pushed, attempting to push Yamato over.

It seemed for a moment as if it was going to work but the ANBU lashed out with his kunai again, this time aiming for his midriff. Naruto had no choice but to jump back and with it he conceded the momentum as Yamato went on the offensive with a flurry of punches, kicks and kunai slashes. It took Naruto nearly thirty seconds to figure a way out as he couldn't do much but dodge, block and deflect.

Channelling some chakra to a foot he drove it into the ground, the resounding sound of the ground cracking underfoot reverberated across the arena under the wave of Naruto's chakra. The fragmenting ground forced Yamato back. With a moment to collect his thoughts he mentally ran through all the offence he'd gotten in and how Naruto had dealt with all of it with little trouble.

' _Taijutsu was always going to be difficult to pull off against Naruto-san. Those swords certainly aren't standard issue either, I need to steer clear of them_.' Yamato mentally analysed, seeing the calm and confident manner in which he held his sword.

The two short blades Naruto had departed to the capital with had since been replaced. The two he'd come back with were a departing gift from the Daimyō. Both were chakra metal blades with beautifully intricate designs travelling the length of the blade.

The sword in general looked more like a Katana but lacked the length. The Sa-Me (Stingray skin) was blood red overlaid with snow-white Ito (cloth binding). The Tsuba (crossguard) was polished steel while the Fuchi (collar) was silver inlaid with small pieces of polished Jade. The Kashira (End Cap) was again polished steel as was the lanyard loop. The lanyard had a short fabric tassel tied to it, the bright yellow and red threads serving as distractions. Even the sheathes, made from lacquered wood were immensely detailed.

Both blades were identical but for one difference, the one sheathed over the shoulder was some ten inches longer giving it a total length of twenty-two inches, frankly it wasn't a tantō and more an elongated Wakizashi.

Not wanting to give Naruto time to gather himself Yamato threw the two kunai in his hands. Both were cleaved out of the air and in half by the tantō. Yamato's eyes widened slightly as he saw the blade was glowing azure blue. He was quickly able to deduce Naruto was running chakra through the weapon, ' _But why the glow? That will just tip of his opponents._ '

He got his answer when he noticed Naruto was now right in front of him. He barely managed a roll to the side as the blade came down, cutting through the air that had moments earlier been occupied by his body. He was straight back to his feet after the roll, he spun quickly expecting Naruto to follow up but he hadn't moved, the blades glow fading, it was then it dawned on the ANBU. "The glow serves to distract just like the tassel?" Yamato asked as he drew another kunai, Naruto only grinned as he re-sheathed the shorter blade and drew the second longer one.

Yamato took a jump back to get some distance. He immediately noticed Naruto's change in stance, he was holding it lower and more in front of him instead of off to the side. ' _That's a stance I'd associate with a much heavier blade, weight that simply making it longer wouldn't provide_.'

"It's not often I get to use Kuchibashi," Naruto said, the grin still present on his face.

The two rushed towards one another again, this time exchanging equal amounts of offence and defence. Yamato had been right about the blade being heavier, swings were far harder to deflect with his kunai and the slightly deeper swooshing noise it made as it cut through the air.

Another minute went by and Yamato finally got his first strike in, the slightest of cuts to Naruto's upper left arm. He had no time to celebrate though as Naruto immediately nicked him on the right thigh with the Kissaki (point) of his blade. Both jumped back, neither yet needing to draw deeper breaths.

Both the Kunai and the Wakizashi dripped a single drop of blood. Yamato grimaced slightly when he spotted the indents in the blade of his kunai, the metal of Naruto's sword was much harder than his kunai. ' _I don't want to risk him breaking my tantō because his sword hadn't the smallest sign of a dent on it. Time to take this fight away from Taijutsu and Kenjutsu._ '

Yamato again threw his kunai at Naruto where it was again cleaved clean in two, a half passing either side of Naruto but Yamato hadn't waited, he'd already started his hand-signs. " **Mokuton Bunshin no Jutsu** ," from Yamato's body sprouted four wooden copies that lined up in front of him. Without a word the four of them rushed forward as the original knelt down.

Naruto assumed a defensive stance as the four clones came towards him, two stayed in front of him while one went to his right and the final to his left. Not wanting to give the clones the time to envelop him he rushed the clone flanking to his left.

He reached the clone before any of the others could react with a huge overhead swing he cleaved the clone in half. As he finished turning around the two clones that had stayed together engaged him. One punched high while the other kicked low.

Naruto jumped into a roll to avoid both. Coming out of the roll he quickly spun and cut another clone in half at the waist. Another roll got him out of range of any retaliatory strike from behind. He rolled a third time as he felt the ground underneath him move ever so slightly.

An instant later a length of wood burst from the ground and only a quick slash from Kuchibashi prevented Naruto from being restrained by the ankle. Having to dodge meant the final two clones were able to close in on him. Placing Kuchibashi in his right hand he drew the shorter blade, Kagizume with his left.

Assuming a stance Naruto launched into a rapid offence, both clones quickly found themselves conceding ground as the desperately tried to weave their way through the never-ending sword swings. Ultimately it was futile as one successful hit became two, then four, then eight and within seconds both were reduced to piles of splintered wood.

 ***Clamp***

It was as he finished his attack that he felt the wooden shackle wrap around his right ankle. With a wry grin on his face Naruto looked down, the wood had emerged from the ground just behind his foot. Naruto re-sheathed Kagizume and knelt down, the wooden shackle making it a little awkward.

Yamato watched carefully, as Naruto knelt down he acted. Another length of wood erupted from the ground and locked around Naruto's left ankle. As Naruto placed his hand palm down Yamato tightened his grip.

Naruto grimaced as the wooden restraints began squeezing. Naruto pushed down the rising pain as he allowed his chakra to permeate the ground around him.

Yamato thought he had him, he thought he'd restrained him, he was quickly proved wrong. He'd already begun walking towards Naruto when the blonde caught him by surprise. With a counter-clockwise twist of his wrist the ground around the mostly buried wooden lengths crushed around them, severing them. In an instant Naruto was free and Yamato again found himself dodging sword strokes.

Without a weapon in hand Naruto eventually hit flesh. He never had time to grin because despite cutting pretty deeply into Yamato's thigh, there was no blood. Naruto jumped back just in time as previously hidden explosive tags shone into view before detonating.

The force of the blast pushed Naruto back a few feet and he temporarily blinded, not to mention the slight ringing in his ears. It was as the dust cleared that he felt the same bindings clamp around his ankles. This time the wood was thicker and denser, ' _I'm gonna need another way out then,_ ' he laughed.

It was after the dust had cleared that the audience was greeted with a restrained and laughing Naruto. Yamato dropped down in front of the humoured blonde. "Very slick Yamato-san. I had no idea you'd made a fifth clone, the explosive tags made for quite the surprise as well," Naruto applauded. "But I've surprises of my own, so don't you dare call this match Genma-sensei!" he added with a shout.

"Well get on with it then, you're on a time limit," Genma shouted back."

Naruto's words left Yamato on edge, he tensed a little, ready for anything resembling a surprise as Naruto re-sheathed Kuchibashi but not before gliding his thumb over the cross guard, again knelt down and began weaving hand-seals.

Naruto's close friends, teachers and family were all watching on from the stands and were greatly interested in the 'surprises' he spoke off. Itachi watched on, his Sharingan paying attention to Naruto, Tri was doing the same but was much more subtle about it, leaning his head on his left hand to better hide the Sharingan red while the rest of the Hokage family watched on in anticipation.

Naruto hands finished with Ram before he slammed his right hand into the ground. " **Kuchiyose no Jutsu** ," The puff of smoke made Yamato back up immediately, he knew a summoning Jutsu when he saw one and he had no idea what would emerge as Naruto was shrouded in a plume of smoke.

"Wait, Naruto-kun has signed a summon contract?" Kushina exclaimed. "Well, it's not the Toad contract, I know that much," Minato added, a little saddened by the revelation.

Truth be told, Yamato was expecting a toad. He wasn't expecting feathers, he wasn't expecting talons the size of kitchen knives, he wasn't expecting the ear-piercing shriek nor the gust of wind that dispersed the smoke. With the smoke cleared Yamato was left facing down a bird of prey the size of an eight-year-old child.

" _What do you require of me Naruto-sama?_ " The huge Falcon mentally asked, it's black eyes boring into Yamato's. "Horus-kun, I need you to occupy Yamato-san over there while I'll break free of these shackles." he asked while pointing at the ANBU. Horus turned his head to view the wood around Naruto's ankles and then back to Yamato. " _Very well,_ " the bird replied before standing to its full height and with a mighty flap of his wings lifted off.

Minato and Kushina looked on in awe as the bird took to the air. Its head and back were bluish black with black wingtips while it's underparts were white with thin horizontal bands of black and brown. "It's beautiful," Minato heard Kushina mutter next to him.

Yamato estimated the bird was nearly a meter from head to tail and its wingspan was huge at nearly two meters. With another deafening shriek Yamato threw himself to the side to dodge the knife-like talons. It meant his concentration was broken and Naruto took immediate advantage as he felt the shackles grip weaken. He cleaved them apart with Kagizume and set off to assist his summon.

Yamato could barely keep ahead of the giant bird, it's previous dive had left a gash on his shoulder, the talon had torn straight through his flak-jacket. The re-emergence of Naruto only exacerbated his problems as he was now working double time to evade the both of them.

A plan began to form in his mind but he'd need to be quick lest he ended up impaled by something. He prepared himself to dodge another swoop but the bird instead brought itself to a halt and hovered above him. His confusion was brief as he felt the first wisps of wind. Then he felt them again, stronger this time.

' _The wind is timed with the bird's wings. Fūton!_ ' Yamato shouted in alarm in his head, his challenge got even harder as the next gust of wind nearly lifted him from the ground. He knew the wood he'd been manipulating earlier was still spread around underground, ' _If I can get the bird closer to the ground I can ensnare it._ '

Yamato started throwing shuriken at them both, he deliberately aimed just above Horus to force him closer to the ground. While his face showed no emotion he was relieved to see the creature descent, even if only a few feet. " **Suiton: Suijinheki** ," Yamato fired the wall of water at Naruto to buy himself some time. It succeeded in catching the blonde off-guard as he was carried away and driven into the sidewall.

Seeing his chance Yamato threw a final pair of shuriken at Horus, bringing the creature down a few more inches before flying through a few hand-signs. " **Mokuton: Jukai Heki** " (Wood Release: World of Trees Wall). From the ground a torrent of thick branches surged upwards and before the great Falcon could react it was trapped. The branches held still it's mighty wings and for each one torn in half by Horus' beak, another five took its place.

When the branches finally gripped the bird's neck, it ceased it's struggling. " _My apologies Naruto-sama but these branches have utterly restrained me._ " Both summon and summoner shared a glance and nodded to each other before Horus vanished in a plume of smoke.

A very wet Naruto stepped towards Yamato. "Very impressive Yamato-san, then again I shouldn't be surprised," Naruto complimented. "But I'm not out of ideas just yet," he added with a wide grin as he began moulding a large volume of chakra. "When did you even draw the blood needed to summon?" Yamato asked.

"As I slid my thumb over the cross guard of my sword," he answered. Yamato was visibly impressed, "You really went into detail with your swords design," he said in approval, Naruto continued moulding chakra. "But I hope you'll forgive me if I bring this to an end, Naruto-san."

" **Mokuton: Jukai Kōtan** ," (Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees). As soon as Yamato's hands hit the ground it erupted with life as trees grew from nothing. The writhing mass of flora raced towards Naruto who despite the imminent threat remained unmoved.

"You see it, Itachi?" Tri asked. "Yeah, I see it," he replied. ' _Are you finally going to reveal this multi-year secret of yours then Naruto_ ' he wondered.

The still growing trees surrounded Naruto on all sides and formed a dome over him. All the audience could hear was sound of the trees, thus they never heard Naruto speak as he formed the snake hand-sign. " **Mokuton: Jukai Kōtan**."

Just like Yamato, as soon as Naruto's hands touched the ground it burst into life. These trees though very much narrower in structure and the branches were thinner and more vein-like. Naruto had his trees surround him in a defensive sphere as Yamato's forest-esque trees closed in.

It was Mokuton against Mokuton. Naruto had to keep pouring more chakra into his trees to keep them strong and sturdy against the ever-increasing pressure. The seconds dragged on and Naruto found himself having to divert even more chakra, his reserves were draining rapidly. ' _Another minute I reckon, any longer and I'm done for._ '

It was another forty seconds before the pressure relented. ' _Time for the big reveal,_ ' he thought as he saw his opportunity. Naruto supercharged his trees with yet more chakra and with a great push they grew/ bulldozed their way out.

From the outside, events looked far more mundane. The grove of trees created by Yamato encircled Naruto and began squeezing. Only Yamato could tell, but he encountered resistance. He increased the chakra flow to up the pressure but each time he pushed harder, the unknown resistance pushed back too.

A minute passed before Yamato relented, he'd used well over half his remaining chakra with no noticeable results, then his trees shattered.

Yamato was aghast as his trees shattered and splintered, slithers of wood were thrown across the arena, Yamato and Genma even having to take action to avoid being turned into pin cushions.

But his surprise was left in the wake of his and everyone else's utter shock as what looked like a Jungle grew into being, quickly enveloping everything around it.

"Th-that's Mo-mokuton," Kushina gasped, her voice nearly abandoning her entirely. "O-our boy h-has M-mokuton," she stammered, it almost sounded like a question her voice filled with pride and shock while she gripped Minato's arm, the revelation had moved her to the verge of tears, Minato could only nod in silence, he dared not trust his voice right now.

Tsunade too was struggling to control her emotions. To see her grandfather's legacy naturally manifest in one of her distant relatives in front of her own eyes, something she'd consigned herself to never witness. She almost completely missed Shizune supportively rubbing her back, her student recognising how much this meant to the blonde Sannin.

An up until now quiet Jiraiya was already mentally trying to decide how long the list of threats to Naruto would quickly become. ' _Gah, you've made things difficult now Gaki, there'll be alot people who are very interested in you now,_ ' he subconsciously turned his gaze towards one of the more secluded viewing boxes where he knew Danzo was watching from.

The aged Shinobi himself was watching on in silence. Danzo lifted his free hand and motioned for one of his ROOT ANBU to step forward. With his subordinate now stood next to him, Danzo simply pointed at the re-emerged Naruto to which the ANBU nodded in silence before stepping back. ' _It would appear I need to keep a closer eye on you Naruto-san,_ ' he thought. Elsewhere in the stands, an clan patriarch was feeling something akin to dread.

Naruto stood atop his wooden construct. He could see Yamato was breathing deeply but so was he, he was nearing empty. He assessed his remaining reserves, ' _I've got maybe a few Ninjutsu left in me_ ,' he concluded. He took another deep breath, drew Kagizume and dropped down.

"How are you holding up Yamato-san?" Naruto called over. "About as well as you," he finally replied after realising he'd been silent, drawing another kunai into his right hand and a pair of shuriken in his left. Without another word they recommenced the fight. Yamato threw the shuriken as they closed in on one another, Naruto deflected them with shuriken of his own.

The first clash of steel left Yamato with only half a kunai as Naruto's blade glowed blue at the last possible moment, the glow faded as soon as the kunai was cut through. Yamato took a quick jump back, sparing a brief glance at his kunai before discarding it and withdrawing another. "How many of those do you have?" Naruto asked with a smile. "Enough, I hope."

Despite him being efficient when imbuing his sword with chakra, he was still having to augment his muscles with chakra to move quick enough and he was quickly running out. ' _I've enough for one, I lose if I miss though.. Fuck it._ '

Naruto took a huge leap back, travelling nearly halfway across the arena and slid Kagizume back into its sheath. Holding his right hand out, palm up with his left hand held over it.

"No options left eh, Naruto," Tri said to himself. He was close enough, however, for Kushina and Minato to overhear him. "What do you mean, Tri-kun?" Kushina asked him. He spared them a brief glance before looking back at Naruto, "The two of us have spent a fair number of hours on the Rasengan and we've.. Well you'll see," he said with a confident smirk.

The audience watched on as Naruto began channelling chakra through his arms into his hands. From a point the size of a pinhead the blue tinted sphere of swirling chakra appeared. Steadily growing in size until it fit snugly in Naruto's palm. Naruto next horizontally twisted his left wrist clockwise and to those with good enough eyesight they'd have begun to see the flecks of white colour spark into being and whip around the sphere.

"Nature transformation!" spoke an astounded Minato. His own attempts to augment the Rasengan had met with limited success. "How has he accomplished it?" he asked of Tri. Minato's voice sounded almost desperate which left Tri rather taken-aback and it showed, the surprise evident on his face.

"You over-complicated the formula Tou-san. We read through your scroll numerous times, eventually we noticed you tried to apply nature and shape transformation simultaneously. Apply nature transformation on its own however, then you'll see results," Tri explained.

Their attention was drawn back to the arena as Naruto made his move, the small blue and white sphere whirling in his hand. Yamato drew on most of his chakra reserves and threw as much wood between him and Naruto. Hidden behind his large wooden barricade he missed the wide grin on Naruto's face.

With a loud cry Naruto drove his arm forward, " **Fūton: Rasengan!** " The sphere struck wood and began chewing through it.

It was now a race, a race to see what would run out first, Naruto's chakra or Yamato's barricade.

Yamato initially was confident, he could see how tired Naruto had become but he was unaware of the fact that applying a nature transformation to the Rasengan substantially increases its destructive power. Subsequently his confident began draining away to be replaced by concern as the Rasengan kept coming. He couldn't simply add more chakra to strengthen the wall, he didn't have enough left.

It passed the halfway point and showed little sign of relenting, the nervousness at the back of Yamato's mind continued building. Sixty percent, still breaking through. Seventy percent, it's progress was slowing but still continuing to grind through wood. Eighty percent, cracks and stress fractures starting appearing on his side of the barrier. Ninety percent, the number of fractures was increasing rapidly, flecks of wood were now breaking free and peppering his face.

Yamato closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable strike that would launch him into the wall. But nothing. The seconds ticked by and still nothing happened. Yamato eventually peaked from behind his eyelids to find a fair sized hole in his wooden barrier with Naruto stood on the other side, the blonde was struggling to stand straight, the final embers of the Rasengan flickered and faded away.

"Huh, so close," the blonde chuckled before collapsing. Genma was able to catch him before his head bounced off the floor. The Jōnin looked at his former student, ' _Yep, he's out for the count._ ' Naruto was barely conscious. "Hey Sensei, how'd I do," he slurred. "Plenty of surprises eh kid, you did pretty good," he answered as Yamato knelt down next to him.

"Yamato, are you able to take him to a medic?"

"Hai," the tired ANBU replied, lifting the teenager over his shoulder before shunshining to the stands looking for Tsunade.

"Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto is unable to continue, therefore the winner is Yamato," Genma loudly declared to those watching. We'll take a twenty-minute recess to repair the arena floor before beginning the next match." With that Genma too also vanished from the arena leaving a squad of Chūnin to undo the damage.

By the time Genma arrived at the Hokage's side Kushina, Tsunade and Shizune were already absent, he guessed they'd followed after Yamato.

He also arrived to a discussion between Minato, Jiraiya, Tri and Hiruzen over Naruto's Kekkai Genkai revelation. "You mean to say neither you nor Itachi knew about this?" Jiraiya questioned forcefully. If he had been attempting to intimidate Tri, he failed, "Nothing specific, he'd been seeking me out for advice in regards to the combination of chakra natures but he was very vague with his questions. Even when I pressed him on the matter he was clearly reluctant to divulge anything that would reveal his little secret."

Jiraiya looked unsatisfied while Minato looked deep in thought. "Precautions will now need to be taken to ensure Naruto's safety, word of today is going to spread rapidly," the white-haired Sannin pointed out to which Tri nodded.

"I have to agree with Jiraiya, Tou-san. There are those out there who'd take Naruto out simply because of his family name but when you throw the power of the Shodaime into the mix. He'll start showing up in Bingo Books across the Elemental Nations within weeks. But it's not external threats that concern me most." This time it was Jiraiya's turn to agree.

"He's right Minato. Blood sample, a semen sample, anything that has his DNA but the holy grail so to speak is Naruto himself, alive. I'm not doubting the Gaki's ability to defend himself, he clearly can but he can't single-handedly fight entire ANBU squads."

Minato thought on their words, his mind already approving or disregarding potential ways to safeguard Naruto, he settled on a measure that would ensure aid was never more than moments away. "I'll place the Hiraishin seal on him," was all he said but Tri and Jiraiya seemed satisfied by this.

"Did a number on the arena floor though didn't they," a previously quiet Hiruzen suddenly said, the silence that immediately followed alerted the four of them to the somewhat tense atmosphere that had built during their discussion. But it disappeared as Tri burst out laughing, Jiraiya mirthfully rolled his eyes and Minato humorously shook his head.

* * *

"And done," Tsunade declared, withdrawing her hands from just above Naruto's chest. She'd spent 10 minutes just pouring chakra into him while another medic extracted the few splinters in his right hand. His speech, slurred and incomprehensible when he'd arrived was already lucid and coherent again.

Kushina was sat in a chair by the bed Yamato had dropped him in, the ANBU himself sat up on another being checked over by Shizune. She held her son's hand in hers, "Naruto-kun, how long have you known?" she asked him, not entirely sure whether to chastise him or not for keeping something so significant a secret.

"I didn't know exactly at the time but when we were journeying back from the finals of the Chūnin Exams. Tri revealing his Shakuton made me wonder whether I could do similar so I tried to merge my Doton and Suiton chakra's and for just a split second they melded. I've been working on it since then but it's only in the last month I made the breakthrough that meant I could grow Flora from nothing."

"Now, Naruto-kun this next question is deadly important. Did anybody know you were capable of Mokuton before today?" Kushina asked, the firmness in her voice conveying the seriousness of her question. She audibly sighed in relief when he answered, "No, nobody knew, not even Tri-kun or Itachi-kun." Despite his answer Kushina looked him dead in the eyes but found nothing but calm, he wasn't lying.

"Don't fret Kaa-chan, I understand the implications of possessing Mokuton, how every Intelligence network is going to know by the end of the month, how I'll end up a marked Shinobi. I wouldn't have revealed it today if I didn't think I was ready to adequately defend myself."

"That's good to hear Naruto-kun but heed this," Tsunade warned. "You still have several years of development before you start to hit your peak. Until you do you'll be vulnerable, you'll be looking over your shoulder everytime you leave the village. The only way out is if you have a flee on sight order like Minato-san does."

Tsunade's words left the room quiet, the only sound being Shizune tending to the various cuts and bruises on Yamato but Kushina again asked a question. "Naruto-kun where did you get a summon from?" Naruto tensed slightly but did answer, "I can't really say much. Bird Summons I've learnt are notoriously secretive. But I met my personal summon Horus by chance while on a mission, the boss Falcon took a liking to me and allowed me to sign the contract."

"Tsunade-sama, am I alright to return to the stands?" Naruto tentatively asked her, "I don't want to miss Kakashi get put through the proverbial Genjutsu meat-grinder," he finished with a wry grin. "Oh," interjected an intrigued Kushina, "He's that good?"  
"I won't spoil too much but he only needs a moment to snare you," Naruto replied trying to tempt them. "Yeah your fine to go, just take it easy for a few days. Shizune, how's Yamato-san?"

"He's fine Tsunade-sama, a few scrapes and he'll be needing an early night but otherwise ok."  
How are the splinters?" Tsunade next asked the nurse tasked with their removal. "Last one Tsunade-sama," she replied as she extracted the slim slither of wood with a small pair of tweezers before smearing a little dollop of disinfectant over the small wound left behind. Naruto's hand twitched slightly as the stinging sensation from the disinfectant travelled up the nerves in his hand.

"Alright then, if we're all able let's go see Itachi and Kakashi duke it out," Tsunade declared.

* * *

And there be the first of the three matches, one of my longest fights too. Hope you enjoyed and see you next time. Oh and we passed 20,000 views, thank you all!

End Chapter

Some of you may have by now picked up on the avian mythological ties with Naruto and Tri's summons, Itachi will have similar with his crows. Naruto's Falcon summon is named after the Egyptian god Horus because of his depict as a Falcon-headed man. Naruto's swords are also named after the beak (Kuchibashi) and talons (Kagizume) of a predatory bird.

Whereas Tri's twin summons Muninn and Huginn are the two Ravens of the Norse god Odin.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The Weasel vs the Scarecrow

* * *

Upon his return to the stands Naruto was bombarded by questions from all sides, their collective words sounded less like words and more akin to how one might imagine a blur sounded. As a result he didn't understand any of the questions put to him so he awkwardly ignored them, to ask them to repeat them would only result in more of the same.

"You didn't hear any of that properly, did you?" Tri quietly asked him, Naruto sheepishly shook his head which turned into a half-serious scowl as Tri chuckled at his expense. Naruto haggardly leant against the railing overlooking the arena, he was exhausted, he might have questioned why he continued to stand if he weren't so tired.

He absently watched the team of Chūnin finish repairing the ring, Doton Jutsu re-firming and re-flattening the ground, Katon Jutsu had burnt away the trees leaving only ash and the occasional leaf blowing in the wind. "I explained your Nature transformation to Tou-san and the others, turns out it hadn't occurred to Tou-san to try the transformations separately."

"You also told him about your shape transformation?" Naruto was surprised to see Tri wince slightly, "I wouldn't say a multi-layered spheroid constitutes a successful application of shape transformation." Naruto's surprise only grew as he listened to Tri speak, he sounded almost downcast. "Why do you sound down? You know I tried to replicate that and failed miserably unless… Are you still caught up on that afternoon?"

He let out a long sigh before nodding, "It still makes you anxious? Naruto quietly asked, "Tri, you tried to apply both transformations. As good as your chakra control is you shouldn't beat yourself up over not being able to control it."  
"Naruto. It almost killed me," he bitterly and bluntly replied.

His words cast Naruto back to that afternoon at one of the Jūnishi training grounds. Tri's first and to this day only attempt at applying both transformations to the Rasengan, for a few seconds it seemed he'd succeeded but it didn't hold. The resulting explosion utterly flatten the training ground and left Tri in A&E for a fortnight and physical therapy for just as long.

The blonde barely managed to suppress a sigh, for some time now his brother had been prone to occasional and drastic mood swings, ever since that rescue mission had ended in failure, Naruto still hadn't figured out quite how to act around him.

Their conversation seemed at an end when Itachi joined them, "How're you feeling Naruto?" the Uchiha politely inquired of his longtime comrade. "Knackered but otherwise I'm good," he curtly answered. It was as he replied he noticed Itachi weaving his hands, he recognised the hand movements as the simplistic sign language taught to the Jūnishi.

' _ **Downcast mood?**_ ' was Itachi's silent question, Naruto signed ' _ **Yes**_ ' in reply. Genma announcement that the arena was again ready removed any opportunity to speak further.

"Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi to the arena floor," Genma shouted to the reassembling audience. With his call the sound of hurried feet emanated across the arena as people rushed back to their seats, drinks and snack items in hand. Shinobi and Civilians alike were always eager to watch a member of Konoha's premier clan in action.

Both competitors made their way to the arena without a word although Itachi had received a few supportive words from Naruto. Only at the last moment did Kakashi put his small book away in the pouch on his hip, if Itachi had been anyone else he might have chided the experienced Jōnin for not taking this seriously but he knew Kakashi well enough to know otherwise.

A lazy and disgustingly laid-back personality hid within perhaps the greatest talent of his generation. A man who graduated from the Academy at five, promoted to Chūnin at six and then to Jōnin aged twelve, not to mention his position and reputation in ANBU.

Kakashi was clad in his regular Jōnin outfit. Itachi was forgone his ANBU outfit for today, Itachi wasn't one for drawing attention to himself and wearing the garb of Konoha's secretive Shinobi organisation would do just that.

Instead he wore what was his regular Jūnishi outfit. Grey Sandals overlaid with interlocking metal plates to protect his feet, ankles wrapped in bandages. The black pants that went to mid-calf under which were hidden the metal boss plated knee braces. Getting kicked or kneed by Itachi hurt.. a lot. His sash around his waist and a light Gray form-fitting top with long sleeves with his Jōnin vest on top. Hands, Wrists and Forearms also bore wrappings but again they hid a surprise.

Under the hand wrappings were hidden his departing gift from the Daimyō, minimalist knuckle dusters, they only covered the knuckle and metacarpal bones but were fronted by a layer of chakra metal. The results when chakra was flowed through them were simply devastating, skulls would cave in, jaws and cheekbones would shatter, teeth would travel in all directions.

Kakashi's pressing concern was just how long he could effectively use the single Sharingan he possessed before succumbing to exhaustion because staring back at him was a pair of three tomoe Sharingan. He had to use his own lest he find himself ensnared by Genjutsu, a field Itachi excelled in.

' _The length of time I can use Obito's eye will shrink substantially if I use many Ninjutsu so I'll start with Taijutsu._ ' With his plan of sorts in place the son of the White Fang lifted his Hitai-ate revealing a long vertical scar and the eye that gave him the nickname 'Kopī Ninja no Kakashi' (Copy Ninja Kakashi). As far as nicknames go it was one of Kakashi's more preferred.

"Hatake Kakashi, ready?" The silver-haired Ninja spared Genma a glance and nodded. "Uchiha Itachi, ready?" Another glance, another nod. ' _Well alright then, don't you all talk at once_.' Raising his arm, "Hajime!"

Genma was expecting them to start big but instead he got nothing, no Jutsu, no movement, not even a stray shuriken. ' _Oh who am I kidding, this will take a whil…._.' He was cut off as they both shot off, Kakashi went right while Itachi went left, they both circled the arena floor once, twice, thrice, their orbits of one another shrinking each time. By the time they'd completed the fourth circuit they clashed.

Kakashi threw out a high kick that Itachi ducked before replying with a straight punch that Kakashi side-stepped before driving his fist into Itachi's ribs. All he got was a slight wince as the Uchiha jumped back, he took a breath before jumping back in.

Kakashi noticed immediately the speed increase brought by the Uchiha as he parried a backhand and jumped over a leg-sweep, he bided his time waiting for an opening to present itself. He had to wait a while, weaving his way through Itachi's strikes. It was almost a whole minute before his chance finally came as Itachi overextended on a punch by the slightest margin allowing Kakashi the chance to punch Itachi in the ribs again.

Itachi's answer wasn't slow in coming as he slammed his boss plated knee into Kakashi's stomach, the air rushing out of the copycat's lungs. He just managed to jump back before Itachi was able to hook a leg behind him. Taking deep lungful's of air he managed to find his voice, "What is your knee made off?" Itachi simply lifted the trouser leg revealing a knee pad with a round conical piece of metal on the front.

He didn't wait for Itachi to get ready, he simply threw a pair of shuriken at him. Neither reached their target however as both were deflected by shuriken thrown by Itachi. "You'll have to do better than that, Kakashi," Itachi recommended. With a humoured shake of the head Kakashi shot forward again.

"Tou-san, why does Itachi's opponent have a Sharingan?" Sasuke asked. Fugaku turned his head to survey his youngest son and he didn't look best pleased, Sasuke's current lack of Sharingan was a source of frustration for them both, he also noted how Sasuke didn't refer to Itachi as his brother.

"He was given it towards the end of the third world war, his teammate Uchiha Obito gave Kakashi his own eye to replace Kakashi's recently destroyed left eye."

"And you allowed him to keep it?" Sasuke asked incredulously, the baffled expression etched on his face. "Yes, it was Uchiha Obito's dying wish that Kakashi have his left eye and I honoured it by allowing him to keep it." Sasuke mentally winced at his father's tone, his words were both hard and cold.

Fugaku hadn't meant to speak in the manner that he had but Sasuke's questions had brought back the memories of the arguments he'd had with several clan members who'd demanded that the eye be returned whether willingly or by force. Fugaku only allowed him to keep it because it was the dying wish of an Uchiha, under any other circumstances then he would have moved to have the eye returned.

It was the grinding of steel that pulled Fugaku out of his own thoughts and turned his lax attention back to his eldest's fight. Both had a kunai in hand and it almost looked like they were dancing due to the way they were moving. In reality the Sharingan was allowing both of them to preemptively predict the others movements meaning they'd both fallen into a strange status quo where neither could make a decisive strike against the other.

Fighting with the Sharingan was a strange sensation at first, you perceived everything in slow-motion which vastly increased the time you had to react. Fighting without his Sharingan was something Fugaku daren't thinking about, he may as well fight blind.

Fugaku was again wrested from his thoughts by an explosion below him. He trained his eyes down to see several kunai flying through the air, tied on paper tags trailing behind them.

With their kunai duel leading nowhere they had moved onto explosive tags and right now both were leaving craters all over the arena floor, the Sharingan again allowing them both to dodge with relative ease so the Status-Quo remained but this time it came with explosions.

The Uchiha Patriarch looked around him, ' _Seems I'm not the only one waiting for the Ninjutsu exchange_ ,' he reasoned going off of some of the slightly bored expressions dotted around the audience.

' _Question is, what are they are waiting for? They're chewing through their allotted time and they've both only landed one or two good hits on the other._ ' Each match today had an allotted fifteen minute time limit and some five minutes had already come and gone.

Kakashi skid to a halt, the volume of dust and dirt thrown into the air from all the explosive tags made it difficult to keep track of Itachi, ' _Not to mention he has twice as many Sharingan_.' Kakashi wasn't ignorant to the fact that he'd likely be losing if it weren't for his implanted Sharingan, Itachi was faster than he was and Kakashi couldn't shake the feeling his opponent still had more speed in reserve.

Kakashi's gambit on claiming the victory through Taijutsu had failed, he'd have to fall back on his speciality, Ninjutsu. But even that was limited, with the constant drain from the Sharingan, he'd only get two shots maximum with the Chidori.

Without thinking he closed his left eye for a few moments while he devised his plan of attack, the clouds of dust hung in the air allowing him a few brief moments. He spied Itachi a few seconds later, he wouldn't notice his mistake until later.

He reopened his eye and threw a series of smoke bombs on the ground around the arena bathing most of it in darkness, once again obscuring their vision of one another. Quietly, Kakashi spoke, " **Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu** ," (Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole Technique). He slowly sank into the ground but he preceded this by creating a pair of Shadow Clones.

Itachi was stood absolutely still and was deathly silent, listening out for the slightest hint of Kakashi's whereabouts. He got his answer when Kakashi appeared on both his left and right, both had a kunai in hand. ' _Shadow Clones,_ ' knowing they'd be slower than the original he acted quickly to dispel them both.

With a kunai of his own he broke left and was quickly able to establish himself on offence, the clone was forced to concede ground to keep itself alive until its partner arrived which it duly did a few seconds later.

Out of pure instinct Itachi ducked under the horizontal kunai slash before spinning 360° on the spot. The second clone was immediately dispelled as Itachi's kunai sliced through it's stomach, the first clone was only just able to block it but with its attention drawn it never noticed the second kunai that had appeared in Itachi's left hand and soon went up in a cloud of smoke.

With the smokescreen now clearing Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly as he returned to complete silence, ' _Where have you got to Kakashi?_ '

Even with his extremely developed awareness skills Itachi never heard Kakashi rise up from beneath the ground directly behind him but then again Itachi had planned ahead as he felt the kunai pressed against his throat.

Strangely both were perfectly happy to wait for the vision obscuring effects of Kakashi's smoke bombs to entirely clear. There were many gasps of surprise as spectators saw the Uchiha heir with a kunai held against his throat.

"Not bad Kakashi, not bad at all," Itachi quietly said. "But?" Kakashi deadpanned.

"But.."

 ***Caw***

Kakashi was taken caught completely off guard as Itachi burst into a murder of Crows. Alarm setting in Kakashi quickly looked every which way he could and barely got his kunai up in time to deflect a pair of shuriken aimed at his head.

A few seconds in which nothing happened passed then another pair of shuriken came out of nowhere, again Kakashi was just about able to deflect them. ' _Where are they coming from?_ ' Kakashi simply couldn't figure it out, there'd be nothing then two shuriken that seemed to appear out of thin air. He could only think of the **Tōton Jutsu** (Transparent Escape Technique), but as far as he was aware only Jiraiya and Hayate knew it.

Thus Kakashi kept spinning in circles, blocking or deflecting the next batch of shuriken. That's what it looked like to him anyway but to Fugaku up in the stands, he saw something else.

"Tou-san.. What is Kakashi doing?" asked a bewildered Sasuke as he watched Itachi rung rings around Kakashi, occasionally throwing shuriken. "Kakashi has yet to notice he's under a Genjutsu," he answered. "But I thought the Sharingan allowed you to see through or spot Genjutsu?"  
"It does but just before Kakashi threw the smoke bombs he closed his left eye, that's when Itachi got him. It seems your Nii-san needs only the briefest of moments to ensnare someone." Sasuke let out a low growl at being reminded Itachi was indeed his brother.

' _But how long will it take you to notice Kakashi, I'm hardly close with either of my sons but I know you'll run out of time before he does Shuriken._ '

He watched on as Kakashi kept searching for any sign of Itachi whereas everyone else could simply see him doing circles around the Copycat Ninja, but despite that he was making sure he was behind him as much as possible. ' _He can't have cast the Genjutsu on himself, Kakashi's eye would see through it. He must have cast it on Kakashi himself. Again can't be on the eye so I'd guess the Genjutsu is inhibiting his brain's ability to see him._ '

Deciding he'd had enough of being used as target practise he cast aside his kunai and flew through a series of hand-signs, he still had to duck once more to avoid yet another pair of shuriken. " **Doton: Doryūheki** ," (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall). Kakashi raised a circular mud wall around him, it even curved inward to create a dome which surrounded him entirely.

' _Ok, it's not a Genjutsu he's cast on himself because I'd see it, it's not an area of effect Genjutsu, I'd see that too so what is it if not Genjutsu?_ ' He ran through the memories of him working missions alongside Kurenai as well as any time he sparred or trained with her then it clicked, ' _Oh but it is Genjutsu, take the eye out of the equation and affect the brain instead. My eye may well see him but my brain doesn't acknowledge the input as if it's being lied to._ '

' _Also what the hell were those birds? Does Itachi have a summon too? Or what it just another Illusion?_ '

Kakashi shook his head in frustration before flushing his system with chakra. "Only one way to see if it worked." He pulled out two dozen explosive tags and spread them out around the mud dome before he again sunk into the ground to safety.

"You think Kakashi's figured out he's under a Genjutsu yet?" Naruto asked his brother next to him. "Well if he hasn't he's in trouble," Tri grumbled, the effects of downcast mood still lingering. Naruto knew his mood wouldn't last much longer so he'd bear it for now, by the time the call came for his fight he'd be right as rain once again.

With his attention turned away from the fight he was almost blown of his feet as Kakashi's unseen explosive tags detonated.

 ***Boom** *

Itachi who was much closer, however, was blown off his feet, the force of the blast ensuring he sailed through the air towards the arena wall but he managed to orientate himself so his feet hit the wall first. Channelling chakra to his legs ensured he would break any bones, when safely secured he checked himself over, not paying any attention to the damage wrought below until he'd confirmed the presence of all his fingers and toes.

The Uchiha went he did look up found again the arena was shrouded in a thick fog of dust and dirt, he could just make out the edges of a crater. Kakashi was again absent, ' _I wonder if he went deep enough to escape his own explosion?_ ' Itachi wondered because the seconds ticked by and Kakashi still hadn't returned.

' _He's going to run out of chakra if he isn't careful._ '

The dust was slow in dissipating so Itachi took matters into his own hands, " **Fūton: Kamikaze** ," (Wind Release: Divine Wind) he fired a stream of wind in a semi-circle arc in front of him, the dust cleared away to reveal a hefty circular crater, some eight feet wide and five feet deep. The explosion had been strong enough to blast through the packed dirt layer and reached the stone bedrock underneath.

It wasn't the crater that drew his attention however, it was instead the mask-clad Shinobi on the other side of the arena. Kakashi looked uninjured but tired, he was breathing heavily with his left eye clamped shut but this time he wasn't so negligent as to look Itachi in the eye, instead choosing to look at his feet.

' _You're running out of Chakra Kakashi, I can see it,_ ' Itachi mused to himself. He also knew their time limit was nearing, he was perfectly happy to let time run out because while it might have only been a 'friendly' match Kakashi was free to go all out whereas Itachi was having to fight within himself although Itachi was unsure whether Kakashi was in fact fighting to his full potential.

Across the arena Kakashi was weighing his options, by now he only had the Chakra for a single Chidori and with the time limit closing in he would be short on opportunities to use it. Not to mention if he missed he'd lose. Now despite the detached almost aloof personality Kakashi had it didn't mean he wasn't a competitive spirit, he didn't like losing, his numerous challenges with Gai were a testament to that even though he hid it well behind that 'Cool and Hip' attitude as Gai described it.

"They're both happy with a draw aren't they?" a disappointed Naruto asked. "Looks like it, Naruto-kun," a quiet until now Hiruzen replied.

Itachi slowly withdrew a kunai in full view of Kakashi, he chucked it up into the air. It soared about twenty feet up before gravity reasserted itself and the kunai began falling back to earth. Both watched the kunai whilst not taking their eye/ eyes off the other. It continued its descent, unhindered by nothing but air resistance.

"Seems we're to get a finish after all," Hiruzen murmured.

The moment the Kunai hit the floor both vanished. Only the most trained eyes could keep up with them, everyone else having to settle for spotting the sparks and sounds of grinding metals that suggested both again wielded Kunai.

Genma quickly glanced at the timer, ' _Thirty seconds for someone to make something happen._ '

Another five seconds passed before someone finally stopped long enough for the majority of the audience to spot them. " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** ," Itachi released a stream of flames, his aim was dead on as Kakashi was engulfed in fire.

Itachi had to admit he was surprised he actually caught him in them but the flames ebbed away to reveal a scorched kunai.

"Seems they're playing from your trick book Tri," Naruto chuckled. "Not really surprising Naruto, I made the technique publically available to Chūnin and above. I'm just glad to see someone making use of it."

That brief moment of surprise almost cost Itachi as he just managed to avoid a kunai slash from Kakashi, he struck out with his own to keep him at arm's length, he somehow actually managed to leave a cut on the palm of Kakashi's free hand.

A plan immediately forming in his mind Kakashi threw his final smoke bomb, covered by the smoke he flashed through five hand-seals before driving his palm into the ground. Within a few moments Itachi found multiple summoned Ninken latching onto his body.

Then he heard it, the sound that had made Hatake Kakashi's name known across the elemental nations, the sound of a thousand chirping birds. Kakashi re-emerged from the smoke, his right hand covered in a neon blue light, arcs of electricity flickering and dancing around it.

Itachi didn't know but Kakashi had purposefully reduced the power output of the only technique he'd ever created. With his quarry restrained Kakashi thrust his right arm forward, his target the space between Itachi's right collarbone and shoulder, he didn't want to kill him after all.

He made contact, the tip of the Chidori penetrating the skin but before it could cut any deeper Itachi burst into another murder of Crows.

"What?!" nearly everyone watching exclaimed including Kakashi. Genma spared another glance at the timer.

Kakashi's moment of shock would prove to be his downfall as Itachi reappeared behind him, kunai in hand. He kicked out at the back of Kakashi's leg dropping him to one knee. He grabbed a handful of his silver hair and pulled his head back and brought the kunai towards his neck.

"TIME!"

The Kunai stopped, only inches away from Kakashi's throat. There were a few moments of eerie silence, "It appears there isn't a winner Kakashi," Itachi stated as he released his grip on him, allowing him to stand. "This bouts time limit has expired with no decisive winner, therefore I declare this match a draw," Genma informed the crowd.

"A single second, that's all you'd have needed to have been declared the winner," Kakashi explained to Itachi. The Uchiha simply shrugged his shoulders, "Doesn't matter, the time limit expired before I could place the Kunai against your neck."

Kakashi didn't look entirely convinced by his logic but nodded his head nonetheless. "By the way what were those crows about?" he inquired as he pulled his Hitai-ate back over his left eye. "Just as dogs are yours, Crows are my summons but they don't act like other summons, I can't communicate with them and I have no specific personal summon…"

Meanwhile up in the stands Tri was having to explain the same thing to those around him. "The first time you saw the Crows, it was what we've taken to calling a Crow Clone. A number of crows can disguise themselves as Itachi so long as he supplies the Chakra. The second instance I believe was a Shunshin."

"A Shunshin?" a baffled Kakashi asked. "Yes," Itachi answered, "I took a risk there however. Raiton is pretty good at playing havoc with your chakra network and your chakra control, if I'd delayed for just another moment or two then I wouldn't have been able to focus my Chakra."  
"So I'd of impaled you?"  
"Correct. So you see Kakashi, we were both mere fractions of a second from victory today."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we're going to take another short recess to repair the arena floor *sigh* again."

For the second time today the Chūnin repair crew took to the field as the three Jōnin took their leave and for the second time Genma appeared halfway through a conversation.

"So that's two of you with summons, do I hear three? Dattebane!" an exacerbated Kushina asked as she glared at her black and red haired son who was trying his hardest to make himself as small as possible. "Triii-kun," she said in a sickly sweet voice as he tried to slowly hide behind Naruto. "Tri, stop joking around and stop hiding behind me."

"Oh fine," he relented, the timid look on his face vanishing, "I do have a summon but I'll introduce you another time now who am I fighting since you've neglected to tell me," he inquired, trying to change the subject

"Is it a bird too Nii-chan?" Minusha asked him, ' _So close_ ,' he thought to himself. "Yep," he replied while nodding, "My twin summons are Ravens."

"Where did you all meet your summons?" Minato inquired. "You may find it hard to believe but we aren't permitted to discuss much about our summons. It seems to be a quirk for Bird summons in how very secretive they are. But mine introduced themselves to me first, turns out they'd been watching over me for years. Eventually they brought me before the Raven king who deemed me worthy, it was then they offered me the chance to sign their summoning contract," Tri answered.

"I happened across mine on a mission when I helped a young Falcon who happened to be one of the Falcon clan. From there I was offered the chance to sign the contract and Horus became my personal summon," Naruto followed up. Everyone turned to Itachi, half expecting him to describe something similar but he didn't. "I'm forbidden from saying, my summons are even more secretive, so much so that I don't know the name of a single Crow."

Itachi's admittance brought their conversation to an abrupt end and nobody knew what exactly to say to move it along. Nobody but one.

"Sooo, who am I facing?"

* * *

End Chapter

Well there you have it. This has been the hardest chapter to write so far. I wrote the first draft, read through it, thought it was rubbish, scrapped and rewrote about 75% of it, I'm much happier with the rewrite.

Also I've been pondering whether to publish every fortnight instead of every week. Apart from giving me more time to write them, it'll mean the chapters will be of a higher level of quality as well as make the chapters longer with greater levels of detail. The next two chapters I actually wrote months ago and baring some additions and changes they'll be ready on time so I'd make the switch from chapter 26. You'll have to let me know which you prefer.

Oh and we passed 150 Favourites and are on the cusp of 200 Followers, thank you all!


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Exploiting Weaknesses

* * *

 **Ginocide02** \- Thank you for your Critique and good Critique at that. As for the Critique, I pretty much agree, he is a bit too good, I began taking steps a few chapters ago to introduce more weaknesses into Tri, both mentally and physically. I've already compromised his emotional calm and this very chapter highlights just how to fully use his close combat weakness against him.

As for him being the main character, firstly he isn't but Naruto and Itachi have already pre-established character traits and personalities so I have to take more time to flesh him out but I can see what you mean by many things being from his perspective, there'll be ebbs and flows in regards to from perspectives, the next arc which starts from ch.26 will revolve predominantly around Itachi and Naruto with little from Tri.

* * *

"Asuma-san?" an intrigued Naruto asked his father, "Why Asuma-san?"  
"I chose Asuma-san because his greatest strength is Tri's greatest weakness," The blonde Kage noted the lack of conviction on Naruto's face, "What?" he challenged. "No, nothing," Naruto replied, slightly started by Minato's tone.

"It's just," *Sigh*, "I'm unsure whether Asuma-san can prevent Tri from dictating their battle," he admitted. "You know, for all the times you mentioned the words Tri and dictate in the same sentence, you've never once explained what you actually mean by it," Kushina deadpanned. Naruto at the least had the good grace to look guilty at her comment.

"Erm, well I g…"  
"Distance and pacing," Itachi butted in. "Don't let Tri dictate the distance or the speed a battle is fought at. You make things much harder for yourself if you don't. He likes it when he's in control, it's possible to knock him off his game when he isn't."

Genma, who to this point had been silently listening to the group conversation around him surveyed the Chūnin clean-up crew repair the finals bits of damage done to the arena floor, and there was still one more bout to go. Out of the three young Jōnin being tested Tri was the most mysterious of the three, outside of his sphere of friends and family people didn't know much the adopted son, they did, however, know he was a very talented Shinobi.

"Uzumaki Tri, Sarutobi Asuma you're next," Genma called after dropping back down to the arena floor, Asuma jumped into the fighting arena while Tri simply appeared in it.

"Show-off," Jiraiya scoffed. "Is it a good idea to put him against Asuma, Minato. We wouldn't want him to get hurt. You know how dangerous his Trench Knives are." He added, loud enough to be heard down below, earning him a blank, decidedly unimpressed stare from Tri himself. Naruto, Itachi amongst a few others noticed something everyone else missed however. "Very slick," Naruto quietly noted.

"Don't worry Sensei, he'll be fine." Minato replied.

"With the way you spoke, I get the feeling you don't think Asuma-san is the best opponent for Tri-kun," Kushina quietly asked of Naruto. The blonde shook his head, "No I don't, sure Asuma's very capable in close-quarters but his fighting style still relies too much on Ninjutsu."  
"So who should your Tou-san have picked to face him instead?"  
"Maito Gai would have been the perfect choice. He's a Taijutsu master and one of few Shinobi I'm certain is faster than Tri-kun is."

Genma looked at each competitor. Asuma had drawn his Trench Knives and was clad in the same outfit as Kakashi, the only difference being the sash around his waist.

While Tri was in the midst of removing his cloak, Genma watched him do so. It revealed grey sandals, full-length grey pants with wrappings around his right thigh, a black short sleeved shirt with mesh underneath and wrappings up his entire arm except for his right forearm, the Violet Sash around his waist almost looked out of place with how the colours contrasted with one another. The cloak momentarily obscured his face as he discarded it, when it reappeared Tri had a Sharingan in his left eye. _'Very interesting'_ he thought.

Wasting no time in raising his arm in front of him. He shouted "Hajime!" thus beginning the final bout.

The collective gasps rang around the arena as they too spotted the red sclera of the Sharingan on Tri's face and were focussed on that than the fight getting underway, even from this far away they could make out the red.

Fugaku was stunned into silence, he knew about Tri's mixed heritage but never at any time thought it possible for Tri to actually awaken the Sharingan. Furthermore it meant he'd have to deal with countless attempts to persuade him to reclaim the eye, by force if necessary.

Sasuke next to him had his hands gripped around the metal railing in front of him, his knuckles were quickly turning white, he was positively seething. How could this unknown 'half-breed' possess something he, a full-blooded Uchiha did not.

Blue chakra surrounded Asuma's trench knives as he rushed forward, he knew that Taijutsu was Tri's weakest field. Tri, however, simply stood still, allowing Asuma to rush towards him. The moment he crossed half-way however he found himself having to navigate a flurry of kunai and shuriken forcing him to a halt to block and dodge. He took his eyes off of Tri for the briefest of moments, he tried to re-establish visual contact when he noticed Tri was already gone.

Sensing a chakra signature behind he spun blocking the kunai descending towards him, his Fūton imbued blade slicing Tri's kunai in half, forcing the teenager to jump back. Seeing an opportunity Asuma weaved some hand seals, " **Fūton: Fūjin no Jutsu** " (Wind Release: Dust Cloud Technique). A stream of fast-moving dust emitted from his mouth straight at Tri. Aiming to strike him before he touched the ground, Tri however did hit the ground moments before the dust stream struck him, a flicker signifying he'd dodged it.

Asuma, forced to turn 180° again to find Tri weaving hand seals, the exact ones Asuma had just used. " **Fūton: Fūjin no Jutsu** " Tri uttered before firing his own dust stream towards the Jōnin, he rolled to the side to dodge. His eyes widened however when he noticed a kunai with an already burning explosive tag on the ground. The tag detonated but only a smoking log flew out of smoke. "Quick thinking Asuma-san," Tri commended the experience Jōnin now stood across the arena floor, a grin on both their faces.

"Those tags you created for disguising Kawarimi objects are a godsend, it's simplifies things so much," Asuma applauded, he'd discarded the disguised log onto the arena floor before the fight had begun. Tri simply inclined his head in thanks for his complimentary words.

"Kaa-chan, what happened?" Minusha asked her mother, tugging on her shirt. Kushina looked down towards her youngest and explained. "Your Nii-chan dodged Asuma-san's Jutsu while also copying it. Having copied it he used it against Asuma-san, aiming it slightly to the left, forcing him to dodge right straight into the explosive tag he placed after dodging, forcing Asuma-san to use Kawarimi to escape the explosion." Minusha face went from thoughtful to a grin, "Cool." Her excited reaction getting a dismissive grunt from Jiraiya.

"Ready to continue Asuma-san?" Tri asked, the Sarutobi's answer was to launch himself towards Tri, faster than before. Again the Uzumaki stood still, this time weaving hand-seals instead of throwing projectiles. " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** " (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu). Not slowing down in the face of the giant fireball Asuma brought his hands together shouting " **Fūton: Reppūshō** ," (Wind Release: Gale Palm)he'd aimed it sideways and used it to push him around the fireball, a second Reppūshō catapulting him towards Tri. Planting his fist into the side of Tri's surprised face, launching him into the wall, a small impact crater forming. The dust kicked up by the impact quickly cleared leaving a worse for wear Tri. Genma appearing by his side to check his condition.

Genma was about to call the match and Jiraiya was half-way through a smirk when Tri disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto chuckled as Jiraiya's presumptuous misfortune, "Well done Tri-kun, your Kage Bunshin lasted longer than I expected."  
"How could you tell?" Kushina asked. "When the clone flickered into the arena, it was slow, too slow to be the real Tri." Naruto replied, just loud enough for the Toad Sannin to hear. Getting a snicker from Kushina and Tsunade as Jiraiya scowled.

"So where is Nii-chan?" Minusha asked. "Where indeed Minusha-chan." A voice said somewhere above them. Leaving her mother's side she ran to the railing and leaned out over it and looked up, she saw Tri standing on the edge of the stadium roof. He gave his little sister a quick wave and a smile before flickering to the arena floor.

Asuma gave him a grin before leaping forward once more, "Let's kick it up a notch," he shouted as he approached. His two trench knives still glowing that eerie blue. He got close and opened with a horizontal slash aimed at decapitating Tri. The young Uzumaki ducked under and jumped into a tight forward roll and with his hands firmly planted on the ground he drove both his feet into Asuma's chest only for the Jōnin's other arm to block. With his attack stopped he pushed off Asuma's arm to get some distance as the razor-sharp trench knife made another attempt at cutting into his flesh.

Again Asuma grinned, "Not bad kid. I definitely don't have to pull my punches so to speak." His young opponent humorously rolled his eyes.

Again Tri found himself ducking as a knife sailed through the air, a few errant pieces of black and red hair cut free from his head. He'd been caught off-guard by Asuma suddenly increasing in speed again, ' _He's quicker than I gave him credit_.' This time he used a small flashbang to get him out of Asuma's reach, the Jōnin forced to rapidly blink to clear his distorted vision. By the time it did Tri was well out of his range. "That was a little too close, It would appear that I too need to loosen the restraints."

Tri placed the index and middle fingers of his left hand on the underside of his right wrist and turned them 90° counterclockwise then he seemed to almost go limp as his arms and torso turned to jelly as he revelled in the removal of his weight seals. "It's not often I need to remove my weight seals Asuma-san, thank you."

Asuma had already assumed a defensive Taijutsu stance. _'And he's conceded the momentum,_ ' Naruto dryly thought to himself. Tri formed the Snake seal. " **Suiton: Bakusui Shōha** " (Water Release: Exploding Water Shock Wave). Opening his mouth a vast body of water poured out quickly flooding the arena, it was only seconds before a body of water four feet deep became the new arena floor. Asuma internally groaned, yet despite the water's presence he decided on his next move. Genma meanwhile had been forced onto the arena side wall to avoid getting his feet wet.

"Where did he learn that?" Minato exclaimed. "We undertook several missions to **Mizu no Kuni** (Land of Water) during our time with the Jūnishi Hokage-sama," Itachi vaguely explained. "Sharingan?"  
"That would be my guess, Hokage-sama," he said with a nod.

" **Katon: Haisekishō** " (Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning) Asuma spoke, the Tiger seal formed in his hands as he spewed a cloud of dark ash across their battlefield. "It's over." Jiraiya said with an air of arrogant assurance as the ash cloud continued towards Tri who again stood still while he analysed Asuma's technique. His response chosen Tri began weaving hand seals. " **Suiton: Suijinheki** " (Water Release: Water Formation Wall) Tri said spewing another wave of water to form a curved wall in front of him blocking the ashes progress. As he did Asuma struck the flint in his mouth and the ash ignited, a wave of fire racing towards Tri's wall of water.

Tri whisked through a few more hand seals while using a chakra infused foot to kick more water into his wall as he spoke again. " **Fūton: Kamikaze** " (Wind Release: Divine Wind). Tri opened his mouth again releasing a huge supercharged gust of wind, it pushed against the wall of water turning it into a tidal wave. The water clashed with the approaching flames, steam spewed across the arena as water hissed and boiled but after a few seconds the flames were completely snuffed out.

Asuma brought his arms up in front of his face as the water fell around him, he was expecting to be submerged for a moment and he was half correct as the water enveloped him. But the water remained, opening his eyes he found himself in a ball of water and that he couldn't move. He could see Tri on the other side of the arena but he was also to his left, one of his hands inside the sphere of water.

"Suirō no Jutsu (Water Prison Technique) and a clone? When did he have time to create a clone? Itachi, explain." Tsunade demanded. "The moment the water surrounded Asuma-san Tri-kun shunshined next to him, made a clone and Shunshined back to his starting position." The Uchiha explained. "How?" Shizune asked, "I was watching Asuma-san the entire time and I never saw Tri-kun, no flicker, nothing."

"Speed, plain and simple." Minato answered, causing Itachi to nod. "Hai, Hokage-sama. The flicker you see when Tri moves is quite frankly a gimmick, it's what he wants you to see. In reality his actual speed when his weight seals are removed is great enough that at full pelt my Sharingan takes a few moments to register it. He's fast enough to do what he needs and be back in his starting position before you can notice," he explained, "But it's not without its weaknesses," he vaguely finished.

"Humph, So the Gaki's quick, a little Fūton chakra and that little water ball will burst. He's not won yet." Jiraiya added, a little bitterness in his voice. "He knows Jiraiya-sama, just keep watching." Itachi bluntly replied, being able to understand rather better why Tri disliked the Sannin.

Looking back towards the ball of water the clone was forming hand seals with its sole free hand. Placing his free hand on the surface of the water ball the clone spoke. " **Suiton: Suirō Fūin,** " (Water Release: Water Prison Seal) from his hand a seal quickly spread around the sphere. "That's a Chakra drain seal." Kushina noted, recognising the array designs, "When did he have time to draw it? That's a complex seal not to mention it's on water. Itachi…" The Uchiha chuckled as he was again asked to explain, he struggled to remember the last time he'd spoken so much.

"Tri-kun has dozens of seals already drawn on the palm of his hands using an invisible ink. He figured out a way to transpose seals from his palm onto another surface. The advantage of course is that he doesn't need to draw it but it means he has to get in close hence the use of a clone." Itachi explained. Leaving Minato and Kushina open-mouthed. "That's brilliant and he is teaching me it," Minato said with a slight tone of finality. Even Jiraiya had to mentally acknowledge the ingenuity, though he'd never vocally admit it.

Regardless, just as Jiraiya had pointed out, Fūton chakra was sufficient in bursting the liquid prison as the ball popped, the dispatch of the water clone following swiftly. Asuma took a deep breath, ' _Ok, Ninjutsu ain't working. Itachi said he liked being in control, let's wrest it from him._ '

The Sarutobi took another deep breath and then simply vanished, no sound, no flicker, nothing. Tri barely had time to register a look of surprise before a punch to the shoulder blade lurched him forward. After regaining his balance he spun to find, nothing. He shunshined away just as Asuma reappeared behind him. 'Asuma _was holding back yet more speed? Well now I have a problem and he seems to still have plenty of chakra left, that seal doesn't work quick enough it seems, I'll have to correct that some time._ '

Meanwhile up in the stands Naruto was quickly having to re-evaluate his prior estimations of Asuma, he couldn't miss the cocky smile on his father's face. "Yes, alright Tou-san. I admit it, you chose very well," he admitted irritably. Minato's grin only widening at his son's expense.

The next minute continued in the same vein, Asuma would be able to get in close and land a hit or Tri would just get away in time, it meant that Tri was completely stuck on defence, unable to shift the momentum back his way. Even the water underfoot didn't help, Asuma wasn't leaving any ripples on the surface nor was he making a sound.

It took him that entire minute to notice that Asuma hadn't been using his trench knives, well, at least not with chakra flowing through them because he could distinctly recall a trench knife clad punch bouncing off his skull, his ears were still ringing because of it. But he bore no Fūton inflicted cuts. ' _And I can't seem to shake him off, I Shunshin and he's there within a second or two,_ ' he thought, the frustration starting to set in and Naruto noticed.

"He's starting to get frustrated, he hasn't noticed how Asuma's able to keep so close to him and not even the Sharingan can help him there," he remarked, Itachi nodding his head in agreement, "So long as it's only frustration, not anger," he added, a comment that had Jiraiya mentally raise an eyebrow.

"Can't he use his summon like you did to give him some breathing room?" Kushina asked him. Naruto shook his head, "No, his summons aren't combat oriented. They're fantastic scouts and spies but they aren't fighters, fitting really."

Asuma was still coming to terms with how easy it was to keep up with him, Tri was the faster of the two of them but he was gobsmacked by how one dimension his use of extreme speed actually was, it was so easy to predict where he'd end up and thus very easy to get in close and land another hit.

Another Shunshin, another kick to the kidneys, Asuma had to admit, he could take the hits well.

' _Yeah, that's enough of being blindsided,_ ' pumping his legs with chakra Tri launched himself into the air, at the top of his jump he leaned back so he ended up-side-down, his hands briskly weaving hand-seals. " **Shakuton: Kanetsujouki** ," (Scorch Release: Superheated Vapour)

There was no wall of flames, no firestorm. In fact it was near invisible. A wall of superheated air that seared flesh on contact and flash-boiled water. Having heard the name of the Jutsu and spotted the heat haze it was giving off Asuma could quickly deduce that it was extremely hot un-ignited air only awaiting a spark. He repeated a pattern of hand-seals he'd used earlier, " **Katon: Haisekishō**."

The very visible wall of ash met the not so visible scolding hot air, the two began mixing together. Then Asuma did two things, first he stopped the flow of chakra to his feet so that he began to fall into the water, secondly he struck the flint in his mouth. A spark was all that was needed and he had just provided one.

From Tri's perspective, things were much more sudden, the ash which had been mixing with his own Jutsu one moment suddenly ignited the next. It quickly dawned on him the danger he was now in, Asuma's ash would be hot enough to burn him to death but his own Jutsu would incinerate him. On instinct he Kawarimied with one of the remaining disguised kunai that Kakashi had distributed around the arena during his match.

Tri had rather stupidly forgone bringing any of his own, he was so glad he'd built safeguards into the Kawarimi disguise seal which meant he wouldn't literally end up in the ground. His 'insider' knowledge of their creation process also meant he also knew how to Kawarimi with someone else's tags, something he neglected to tell anyone else, nor write in the scroll that taught fellow Shinobi how to create them.

On the plus side it meant he escaped being turned into a pile of ash, on the downside he suddenly found himself under several feet of water, water that was already lukewarm and quickly getting warmer. Looking up at the water's surface, he could see the bright reds, yellows and oranges that signified the flames coursing above him.

In the stands they'd seen ash disperse and then erupt into flames that rushed across the entire arena floor. It was only a few seconds before the flames receded to be replaced by a fine hot mist of water vapour that hung low in the air. "Itachi?"  
"It's somewhat difficult to make out but I can see two chakra signatures, they both seem to be ok."

Tri broke through the surface, taking a huge gasping lungful of air, the black spots in his vision quickly making way. It hadn't occurred to him he'd end up underwater so he'd quickly found himself running out of air. He dragged himself onto the water's surface as he continued reacquainting his body with oxygen and much to his exasperation Asuma was already coming towards him again.

He knew he couldn't pull himself out of the water in time before the Jōnin reached him so he let himself fall back in but not before remembering to actually take a deep breath this time.

Asuma brought himself to a halt, ' _Damn, now he has a measure on control,_ ' he lamented. He took a defensive stance while he waited for Tri to show himself which he duly did after a few seconds. Bursting from the water just behind Asuma saw the Sarutobi spin on the spot and cleave Tri in two only for the now two halves to burst into smoke, much to the relief of Kushina amongst others.

Several more copies of Tri burst out from under the surface around Asuma and it took him a total of ten whole seconds to dispel all five of them. The clones were almost clumsy in their attempts to engage him and didn't seem able to coordinate their efforts.

The seconds of inactivity ticked by and Tri had still yet to re-emerge. The loose dirt and dust had made the water murky, it was difficult to see deeper than a few inches.

The silence which was by now becoming neigh unbearable was finally broken as two figures burst out of the water which was surprising, the surprising factor being that only one of them was Tri. The Asuma that had been waiting atop the water shot off to assist the other who was doing a fine job of forcing Tri towards the wall.

Tri, kunai in each hand endeavoured as best he could to hold off Asuma?/ his clone? He knew not which but the arrival of the second Asuma to his left spelt the end as he quickly ran out of ground to concede as his back was literally to the wall.

With nowhere to go he soon lost the kunai in his right hand. With his last remaining kunai he desperately held off the Asuma on the left, in a fraction of a second he was able to charge a Rasengan in his right hand. In hope rather than expectation he drove the small Rasengan into the Asuma on the right only for it to go up in a puff of smoke. It was then he lost his second kunai and the trench knife placed at his throat.

From his spot attached to the wall Genma got perhaps the best view in the stadium, they were almost directly below him, he waited a few seconds to see if Tri could slither his way out of it but nothing happened. He dropped down to the water where he and his former Genin charge made eye contact, Tri nodded once before leaning his head back against the wall, his eyes shutting in resignation as he sighed.

"Winner, Sarutobi Asuma." The audience which had been relatively quiet for all three matches broke out in cheers and generous applause. Asuma lowered his trench knife and stored them both away, the two combatants shared a handshake as Asuma spoke. "How much chakra do you have left?" he curiously asked. "At a guess, four-fifths, maybe slightly less. You didn't provide me much in the way of opportunity to use it."

Tri pulled a storage scroll out of one of the many storage seals in his arms, as Asuma and Genma made their way back up to the stands he unrolled and activated it before throwing it into the water. The storage scroll acted as a drain as the water flowed into it. Before long the water was gone leaving behind a damp, muddy surface, he picked up the scroll he re-sealed it in his arm as he heard a conversation begin above him.

"So how many times did Jiraiya-san proclaim the fight to be over when it in fact wasn't?." Genma jokingly asked, poking fun at the Sannin. "Hmph, not as many times as you forgot to teach the Gaki manners it seems." He'd barely finished speaking before a Kunai flew just past his head, embedding itself deeply into the ceiling above. Following its trajectory Jiraiya found himself looking back into the arena at an eagle-eared and decidedly unimpressed Tri.

"You will show Genma-sensei the proper respect old man," he shouted up to him, a venomous edge to his voice. Jiraiya just smugly laughed at him, then Tri shocked everyone when he formed the Seal of Confrontation in his left hand, his eyes boring into Jiraiya's.

Everyone knew what it meant, the seal of confrontation meant exactly as it sounded, and in this context it was an invitation. Tri had challenged a Sannin, besides the fact that most… no everyone would consider it an inherently daft decision in picking a fight he surely couldn't win it was challenging him in so public a manner that left Jiraiya with no choice. He couldn't back down or he would lose credibility in front of the population of a village that revered the Sannin, well two of them anyway, internally though Jiraiya was actually delighted at the unexpected turn of events.

' _Frustration and Anger. Appears that calm façade of yours Gaki has cracks,_ ' Jiraiya laughed to himself. The opportunity to smack the cocky runt around was simply too good an opportunity to miss. ' _Toying with him should be very entertaining._ '

"Minato, I won't be held responsible for what happened to him." He said before jumping into the arena.

"Tou-san, Kaa-chan. Please place a curved barrier seal at the top of the wall. And Genma-sensei, make sure you're on the outside of the barrier please." Tri near demanded, never taking his eyes off the white-haired Sannin he disliked so much.

Both parents understood this fight would be a major clash, and they shared a nervous glance at one another. They also understood that this was going to happen regardless of whether the barrier was there or not.

Despite being nervous for their son they did as he asked placing a total of twelve intricate seal arrays equal distances apart at the top of the arena wall, when all the arrays were in place both mirrored each other with a quick flurry of hand-seals. The arrays lit up in a luminous yet pale yellow transparent light that formed a horizontal, circular field that sealed Tri and Jiraiya in.

Returning to their original positions Minato looked at Genma who in turn looking at him, the blonde haired Hokage nodded to the Jōnin. "Are you two going to be able to supply enough chakra to keep the barrier up?" Tsunade asked, both silently nodded.

"Is it entirely wise to let Tri-kun fight Jiraiya-sama?" Shizune asked them both, the concern evident in her voice. "Perhaps not but the animosity has been building between the two of them for years," Minato replied. "Yes because you did nothing whenever Jiraiya belittled or derided him," Tsunade retorted, a surprisingly hard edge to her voice.

"This is going to end terribly isn't it," Naruto sighed to Itachi next to him. "Probably," the young Uchiha muttered back. The collective comments from everyone left Rezano in edge and Kushina nervously clinging to her mother.

Again Genma caught the eyes of Minato, the Hokage's eyes said to him that he was worried, perhaps even a little scared of what might happen. Nevertheless the Hokage nodded to him again and he begrudgingly nodded in return once more.

Those in the crowd who hadn't yet cottoned on to what was happened were clued in when the two Shinobi down below assumed their stances.

* * *

 **Omake Entry One** (Decided to start doing these to cover lesser mentioned events or further explain things I don't fully explain or elaborate on during the chapters. Don't expect one every chapter but I'll do one whenever I have an idea for one. And we passed 200 Followers! Yay! Thank you all.)

Rank required to view Fūinjutsu tuition Scroll: Chūnin

The disguised Kawarimi Tag

See inside this scroll for instruction and explanation of how to utilise the Disguised Kawarimi Tag or DKT for short.

Introduction: The DKT is a Fūinjutsu tag combing both a Henge and Kawarimi. This allows you, the Shinobi to hide your chosen Kawarimi object/s in plain sight and much closer than previously possible without it being discovered.

Fūinjutsu: The seal arrays used in the tag have been simplified to allow for easy creation. Please find Instructions on the drawing of these seal arrays enclosed with this scroll, please refrain from attempting to draw the array designs until you have completely read and fully understood how this tag works.

While not required, a level 2 Fūinjutsu knowledge is recommended.

If instructions are not present, damaged or in any way illegible please alert a Shinobi librarian as soon as possible.

Seal Array Descriptions:

 **Henge Seal** – This seal is exactly as it sounds, it is the Henge technique in the form of a seal array. It is this that disguises whatever object you seal within this tag. Please note that once the tag has been henged it cannot be changed.

 **Storage Seal** – A simple storage seal, whatever you store within is what the tag will disguise itself as when activated. Only seal one of this object, no more, even if it's only a grain of dirt. When activating the Trigger Seal ensure object is in direct contact with the Storage Seal array.

 **Location Seal** – This element of the DKT is so a Shinobi might locate their unused tags either during or after combat. You can use this to double check their locations or to retrieve them for future use. You will find further explanation on this seal in the instructions further down but to summarise the seal will hold a trace amount of your own chakra that you'll be able to sense.

 **Insurance Seal** – Please note that all DKT's are one use only! This is a deliberate design feature, not a Fūinjutsu fault. Once you have used Kawarimi with one of your DKT's, the tag will intentionally catch fire and burn to nothing. As you may have guessed by how the seal is named, this is to ensure the array designs do not fall into the hands of Shinobi from other villages.

 **Blood Primer Seal** – As you will likely be drawing these arrays yourself, the Primer Seal is a built-in double checker. When activated it will confirm to you whether you have correctly drawn and integrated all seals. Activate only after all arrays have been drawn!

 **Trigger Seal** \- Only activate this last! Triggering this seal activates the tag entirely and seals away the object of choice, activating this sooner will irrevocably damage the tag.

Seal Activation Order:

Only attempt activation after all seals are drawn.

1) **Blood Primer Seal** – Allow a drop of blood to land within the hollow circle the array design surrounds. If nothing happens the seal is not correct, if the blood is absorbed then the tag is ready to be activated.

2) **Trigger Seal** – Place a finger onto the hollow circle in the array and allow some chakra to flow into it.

3) **Storage Seal** – Activated automatically by the Trigger Seal. Your chosen object will be sealed within the tag.

4) **Location Seal** – Activated automatically by the Trigger Seal. You should be able to sense it immediately or shortly after activation.

5) **Insurance Seal** – Activated automatically by the Trigger Seal. (It will only burn the tag after the object has used in a Kawarimi.

6) **Henge Seal** – Activated automatically by the Trigger Seal, once activated the tag will Henge into the stored object.

Find below instructions on the drawing of the above-mentioned seals.

* * *

End Chapter


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Animosity boils over

* * *

Both had barely taken their stances before Jiraiya flew through hand seals. " **Katon: Endan,** " (Fire Release: Flame Bullet) shooting a fireball towards Tri who as before simply stood there. Only moving to the side at the last moment, this was repeated multiple times as Jiraiya shot fireballs and Tri dodged them. Deciding Jiraiya had stood still for too long Tri weaved his opening hand seals at incredible speed, " **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu** " (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique) releasing another torrent of water from his mouth that coalesced into a dragon that charged towards Jiraiya.

The dragon slammed into the arena wall throwing water and a now shattered log through the air. Jiraiya was now behind Tri, the Sannin rushed forward attempting to begin a Taijutsu exchange. Unfortunately for him Tri didn't want to play ball as he simply vanished, reappearing behind Jiraiya, the toad sage turning to find a dozen shuriken flying towards him, then Tri's voice reached him " **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** ", and those twelve shuriken became twelve dozen. Jiraiya quickly knelt down before replying with " **Kebari Senbon** ", hundreds of sharpened hairs smashing against the shuriken either stopping them or re-directing them off target.

The sharpened hairs kept coming straight towards Tri, the Kebari Senbon was the fastest technique Jiraiya had. Tri decided that dodging was a risk, even for him so blocking became the answer. A few hand seals later, " **Fūton: Ressenpu** " (Wind Release: Violent Whirlwind), using the wind stream from his mouth he directed the hair into the ground in front of him. Seeing Jiraiya coming towards him again, he Shunshined away up the sidewall to the opposite side of the arena, he'd only just gotten away, Jiraiya's fist had been less than a foot from his face.

Surveying the battlefield, taking into account Jiraiya's strengths and weaknesses. He came up with a plan of action, _'That should work, not enough water though'_. He channelled chakra into a storage seal on his arm retrieving the storage scroll he'd placed there only minutes earlier. Opening the scroll he cast it into the air as the water came pouring out. With water spraying everywhere Tri formed the Ram seal, channelling chakra to his lungs.

" **Shakuton: Kanetsujouki** ," (Scorch Release: Superheated Vapour) this time he directed the jet of super-hot air directly at the water streaming out of the scroll. The results were immediate as the sound of hissing water drowned out everything else as the liquid was quickly turned to steam.

Jiraiya was troubled, when Tri opened the storage scroll he was expecting him to use an additional Suiton Jutsu or perhaps Fūton, using Shakuton to turn water into steam caught him off-guard. And it was painful, his exposed skin was already starting to burn but it meant he couldn't see Tri. He had to wait until the mist cooled and became water again. With the mist hiding him he knelt down and placing his hands on the ground, he whispered his Jutsu, " **Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu** " (Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole Technique). With the techniques release he sank into the ground, leaving no identifying mark that would give him away.

It took several minutes for the steam to condense back to water but finally the fog began to clear, the crowd could finally see in again. They found that Tri hadn't moved, still attached to the vertical wall surrounding the arena floor but Jiraiya, however, was nowhere to be seen.

' _Hiding from me are you Jiraiya?_ '

Naruto shook his head disapprovingly, "What are you doing Jiraiya? Are you taking this seriously at all?" he muttered. "Distance and Pacing?" Shizune iterated, remembering Itachi's words of advice to Asuma. "Distance and pacing," Naruto repeated with a nod.

Vision to the arena floor may have returned but still Jiraiya had not. ' _Let's force the issue._ ' Tri declared to himself, he Shunshined to the centre of the arena floor and waited for the Sannin to show himself. He didn't have to wait long until he was suddenly jerked into the ground. The crowd gasped, it had happened in moments, from standing on the ground to being buried up to the upper arm.

Behind him a hole appeared in the ground, slowly and silently Jiraiya rose behind the young Uzumaki. He pulled a kunai and held it against Tri's throat. "Too bad Gaki, you've gone and embarrassed yourself trying the whole noble thing, you're a good Shinobi for your age sure, but you can't beat me." By the time Jiraiya had finished talking Tri had a wide grin on his face and was shaking his head.

"Ah, Jiraiya. Can I tell you something?" Tri said, desperately trying to contain the laughter. "Sure Gaki?" his reply, he still hadn't noticed.

"I'm not the real one," the now revealed clone admitted. Then it began glowing, a bright white light that Jiraiya recognised. Wide-eyed, he jumped back trying to get as much distance as possible.

 ***BOOM!***

Less than a second later the clone detonated in a huge explosion that catapulted Jiraiya into the wall, hard. The explosion also tore a huge crater out of the ground as hundreds of kilos of earth were thrown into the air only to hit the Fūinjutsu barrier and fall back down, landing across the remnants of the arena floor

Jiraiya stirred, groaning as his pain receptors started working again. He had burns on his hands and feet, his ears rang. The debris thrown into the air had thankfully missed him but his clothing was scorched and he was struggling to see straight. Looking up around the arena, he could see smoke, rubble, water and confusingly the briefest flash of red as he tried to stand up. A small piece of rubble drew his attention as it fell off the wall and hit him on the back of the shoulder, finding it irritating more than painful.

With a bit of effort he was able to pull himself to his feet, seeing his back was close to the wall he decided to stay put until all his senses returned to him. The ringing would subside and his eyesight stabilised so he decided to get moving, hugging the arena wall to limit the number of ways Tri could come at him, although it also limited the number of movement options he had. Not to mention he was conceding almost the entire battlefield to the Gaki.

As he continued moving he kept thinking, the Gaki had been in control from the get-go, he'd completely disregarded Asuma's fight, he'd literally shown him how to combat Tri, he growled in irritation at his own arrogance, if this were a true fight Jiraiya might already be dead.

Even when he was on the offensive his actions were being subtly manipulated, he needed to start using his more powerful techniques, he had to get Tri properly on the defensive. He was still close to the wall and he'd walked around nearly half the arena, his senses had almost fully returned.

"How much longer until he notices?" Naruto asked looking down at the arena floor, Jiraiya had been walking around the floors circumference but at a slight angle, he'd been walked slowly towards the centre of the arena, away from the wall. Meanwhile Tri had reappeared and was standing atop the highest piece of rubble, just observing.

"I'm surprised to see Tri-kun properly use visual based Genjutsu, his abilities with it have always been.. hit and miss. But it shouldn't be too long now, plus he's yet to notice the seal," Itachi said.

Back with Jiraiya something seemed off, the airflow around him didn't feel right. He was next to the wall and the wall was colder than the air around it. So the air should be condensing and falling around him, but it was the opposite, it was rising which meant... He was no longer by the wall. Bringing one of his hands in front of his face he formed a half Ram seal. "Kai," he said forcing his chakra flow to change momentarily. The wall next to him vanished and he indeed found himself in the middle of the arena Tri looking down at him from atop the rubble.

"Welcome back, Jiraiya," Tri said mockingly, getting an irked look from his aged opponent. Thinking back, wondering when Tri had snared him in the Genjutsu he figured it out.

"That flash of red, your Sharingan I presume." Tri nodded. "The Kori Shinchū no Jutsu (Sly Mind Affect Technique) and the Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Jutsu).

This confused Jiraiya, he'd dispelled the Genjutsu already, but Tri's statement would imply three separate elements, _'what did the third part entail?'_ he thought, re-running the events since the clone explosion launched him into the wall. The only part that stood out was that piece of debris that landed on his shoulder, he looked over his right shoulder and there sat a small Fūinjutsu seal, _'A Genjutsu to apply a seal, very clever'_ he admitted to himself, his irritation growing a little more.

Examining the seal, wondering as to its purpose he noticed his breathing was a little heavier than it should have been. He hadn't used that much chakra then it clicked. He didn't have time to figure out how to break it, it was a relatively complex design and Tri was possibly better than him at Fūinjutsu now despite their massive age difference.

"Well, he's noticed the seal, but what does he do. He doesn't have the time to break it, he'll run out of chakra long before he deciphers it." Naruto commentated to those around him. "The longer this continues, the worse a situation Jiraiya will find himself in," Itachi added.

' _I can't believe this teenager has forced me to go this far. He hasn't been troubled at all, until now that is,'_ Jiraiya smirked as he bit into his thumb before slamming his open palm into the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu".

"He's pushed you that far Sensei." Minato noted, jogging Tsunade's and Kushina's memories. "He's going to use that on Tri-kun?" Kushina added, her words sounded worried but piqued Naruto and Itachi's interest.

The cloud of smoke cleared and next to Jiraiya were two small toads. One was male in appearance and had green skin with large white eyebrows, a tuft of white hair and a small white goatee with a greyish cloak worn over the shoulders. The second was half purple and feminine in appearance. Tri tilted his head slightly, intrigued by the events unfolding in front of him.

"Jiraiya boy, why have you summoned us here?" One of them asked. "My apologies Lord Fukasaku, Lady Shima, I find myself backed into a corner and I'm not particularly fond of the idea of losing right now." Both toad sages looked around, seeing they were in a fairly large stadium, some of the faces in the crowd they recognised as well as spotting the barrier seal that had been erected over the top of them and finally the strewn earth and rubble with a lone figure atop the highest point.

"I take it that's your opponent then? Shima said, "Who are they?" Fukasaku added. "Yes, he is my opponent and his name is Uzumaki Tri, he's the boy Minato and Kushina adopted. And I summoned you here because he's placed a chakra drain seal on me so I need to end this quickly for which I need you both." Jiraiya explained.

Both toads gave him a weird look, "How did he get a seal on you?" they queried. Jiraiya instead of answering the question looked away bashfully, he really didn't want to tell them that he hadn't been taking his opponent seriously.

"I can see he's highly capable despite his young years. What'd ya say ma? It's been a while since we've let loose."  
"Fine," she relented after a moments thought. "We'll help but keep in mind this is an incredibly trivial thing to call us for." Shima scolded him. Fukasaku nodded, "She's right Jiraiya boy. Do not make a habit of this," he bluntly added.

Both jumped on Jiraiya's shoulders. "Ok, Genjutsu is of no use, he has a Sharingan. He has the Shakuton Kekkei Genkai. But his greatest asset is his speed, let's see how he matches up against Sage mode. You'll need to keep the chakra balance in check for me, that drain seal complicates things massively," Jiraiya informed them, a slight smirk on his face. "All right Gaki, I'll admit you've done well so far. But that ends here, no more games."

"Tou-san, care to explain to the rest of us that are lagging behind," Naruto asked. Minato simply responded with, "Senjutsu." Naruto went wide-eyed, he had learnt bits and pieces about Senjutsu but had never seen it in person. He knew however that it was a very powerful art, "Is Senjutsu seriously necessary? That's too far surely?"

Tri watched on as Jiraiya's face started to change, his nose bloating, sprouted warts on his cheeks, grew a goatee and the iris' of his eyes changing to closely resemble that of a toad. Using his Sharingan he could see that the two toads were transferring a strange chakra into Jiraiya, he knew the basics of Senjutsu. Enough to know this was about to get very serious.

Jiraiya blinked first, the brief stand-off between them broken. He surged forward at frightening speed. In an instant he was on the opposite side of the arena and driving his fist into the side of Tri's head, the teenager was sent straight into a large mound of upturned earth, smashing straight through it and sliding along the ground, finally grinding to a halt nearly ten feet later.

The ringing in Tri's ears as he tried to stand was near deafening, his Sharingan meant at least one of his eyes could see clearly. The punch had busted open his head, the blood steadily flowing down his right cheek.

" **Katon: Dai Endan** " (Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet) Jiraiya shouted before spraying a huge fireball towards Tri. Able to see the power behind the Jutsu thanks to his Sharingan he took no chances and Kawarimied out of the way, the fireball struck some of the still present standing water resulting in a huge explosion of steam.

Having known that Tri would be forced to dodge Jiraiya had moved the instance Tri couldn't see him, he was in a way guessing where Tri would end up but he'd closer than if he stood still. Jiraiya thought his fortunes were turning because Tri suddenly appeared in front of him, before he could dodge again Jiraiya pulled back a fist and let fly with a second punch catching him full in the face launching him into the wall opposite.

A cloud of dust obscured Tri from everyone, allowing him a moment to collect himself. _'Urghh, only Tsunade's capable of hitting me harder than that, kami my head hurts'_. Whilst still shrouded in dust Tri activated the mystic palm technique and held the hand against his head, his knowledge of Medical Ninjutsu was limited but he had to stem the blood flow. The dust cover cleared before he could finish however, Jiraiya saw the green glow around his hand, " **Katon: Dai Endan** " he repeated, firing another huge fireball towards Tri.

Even though his healing wasn't yet finished, Tri decided dodging again was not the best idea, he instead wove hand seals and took a deep breath. In the crowd Itachi could see the seals being made, "Hokage-sama, you may want to consider ending this before one of them gets seriously injured," Itachi recommended although he was unsure if his words were heard never mind heeded.

Minato had heard Itachi's words and was caught in two minds, he didn't want to see his son in a hospital bed for weeks on end, but yet he wanted to see how he truly stood against sage mode, even if only the incomplete variant. Before he could make a decision however.

" **Shakuton: Kami Hi Kaze no Jutsu** ," (Scorch Release: Divine Fire Wind) Tri released a huge firestorm. It soon clashed and totally enveloped Jiraiya's fireball and rushed towards the three of them. "Jiraiya boy, Ma, the strongest defensive Suiton Jutsu you know," Fukasaku said quickly already weaving hand seals for his.

" **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu**."  
" **Suiton: Suijinheki.** "  
" **Suiton: Suijinheki.** "

Fukasaku's water Dragon was able to blunt the encroaching firestorm enough so the two vast walls of water could stop it. But the resulting explosion was huge throwing all three of them back into the wall. They were soon covered in clouds of steam as the fire flash boiled most of it.

Again it took a couple minutes for visibility to return, the crowd growing increasingly anxious as to the fate of the combatants; Were they ok? Were they hurt? Were they still alive? The concern on Kushina's face very apparent and is only relieved by Itachi telling them all that Tri was relatively unharmed. Finally the cloud cleared. Jiraiya, both toads still on his shoulders stood in the middle of the arena while Tri had again taken the highest point available.

Jiraiya could sense he wouldn't be able to maintain sage mode for much longer, it was becoming more difficult to hold his chakra in balance even with Fukasaku's and Shima's aid. He had one more big move left in him and he was going to go big. The words Itachi had spoken earlier rung through his mind ' _So long as it's only frustration, not anger._ ' "Is that all Gaki, I expected more from a Jūnishi." The comment got him an irritated look. "Jiraiya, what are you doing?" Shima whispered in his ear. "Apparently the Gaki has an angry streak."  
"Is that entirely wise?"  
"Only one way to find out Shima-sama."

"Come on then Gaki, you wanted this fight, remember?" Again his comment only got a look of irritation in return. "What is Jiraiya doing?" Kushina asked aloud. "He's trying to wind Tri-kun up," Naruto replied, "Which is a terrible idea," Itachi added somewhat ominously.

"What's the matter? Scared you'll lose, scared you'll fail." Itachi and Naruto shared a nervous look, both had an idea where Jiraiya was going. "Jiraiya, please, please don't say what I think you're about to," Naruto quietly pleaded.

"Scared you'll fail like you failed her." The change in facial expression was instant, from irritated, perhaps annoyed to nothing. His lips were flat, The glimmer in his emerald green eye was gone, as if it were greyed out, even the red of the Sharingan seemed duller in colour.

Naruto had his head in his hands, "Jiraiya, you fucking idiot," he hissed under his breath. Itachi had managed to maintain the placid look on his face; Tsunade, however, hadn't and she was clearly angry. Both Minato and Kushina looked glum while Hiruzen shook his head in disappointment at Jiraiya's actions.

Then the killing intent hit them.

It hit Jiraiya first and it felt like a flood as the waves of emotionally charged energy washed over him. The civilians and young Genin in the crowd visibly recoiled, even many of the older, more experienced Shinobi shuffled uncomfortably in their seats. Minusha clung to Kushina in terror, the Uzumaki matriarch placing a comforting hand around her youngest child's shoulders.

"There we go, there's all that bottled up and repressed anger Gaki," Jiraiya jeered in triumph. "Jiraiya boy, was this entirely wise? That is a lot of killing Intent for one still so young," Fukasaku said harshly under his breath. The Sannin dismissed his concerns with a scoff as he held out his right hand, the chakra quickly beginning to swirl around in his palm.

The chakra, blue in colour coalesced into a sphere and began growing, soon it was as big as Jiraiya's hand, then bigger than his head. In only seconds it was nearly ten feet in diameter.

Tri, while he had been watching Jiraiya create the giant Rasengan in his hand, his mind was replaying that day over and over again. The anger, the unbridled fury he'd felt resurfaced. ' **Use it!** ' a quiet but dark voice at the back of his mind said. Tri looking on, a menacing grin stretching across his face. He slowly lifted his left arm out to his side, palm open facing down as a ball of chakra began growing under his palm.

The stance was familiar to Naruto and Itachi and it set off the alarm bells in the minds. "Tou-san, end this now, please," Naruto pleaded. Minato turned his head to face his son, he saw the look of deep concern etched on his face, the wide as saucer eyes, his face had slightly pale. A quick glance at Itachi saw him looking much the same. "Why?" he asked.

Naruto looked apprehensive to tell him but another glance down at the arena floor made him spill. "Because he has managed what no one else has. He's combined both transformation types to the Rasengan." Minato was floored by the revelation but before he could speak Naruto continued. "But it's highly unstable, he could only control it for about five seconds before it destabilised. The explosion almost killed him, he's never attempted it since, he's scared of it," he hurriedly explained.

"So why is he…"

Minato's question was cut off as a swirling blue mass of chakra sparked into life quickly growing in size. It was still smaller than Jiraiya's but the colour it held was a darker, deeper blue then Tri lifted his arm above his head.

"Itachi.."  
"I know."  
"He's going to…"  
"I know."

"Tou-san, please! The explosion will consume the entire arena," Naruto begged as the light it gave off became luminous enough to make people look away in discomfort but bizarrely the sphere didn't expand as more and more chakra was pouring into it, it instead shrank. Something that worried Itachi greatly, ' _He's condensing the chakra_ ,' "Hokage-sama, please! Intervene before somebody dies!"

The deep blue orb then began to shift, the brightness intensified further and the colour changed to a deep blood red as the volume levels rose. It looked like a small sun, the incredibly luminous red light radiating across the arena and the noise was still rising, formerly silent to near deafening. It sounded like a blast furnace.

It took a moment, but both acknowledged and began withdrawing the chakra they'd put into their respective techniques.

Minato saw he simply had to act, with a nod from Kushina they quickly dropping the barrier and he appearing between the two combatants, "This match is over," he loudly declared, "Both of you, my office, one hour," Minato barked, the displeasure at the risk both were willing to run over a sparring match coming through in his voice before he returned to the stand.

It took a moment for either to acknowledge their Hokage's orders but Jiraiya responded quickest, allowing the chakra to bleed out of his technique. Tri took a moment longer before snapping out the anger fuelled veil that clouded his judgement. His head snapped up and his expression shifted to one of fear, he immediately clamped his right hand around his left wrist as he desperately tried to maintain control.

Jiraiya The two toads jumped off of Jiraiya's shoulders allowing the Sannin's face to return to normal as he sat on the ground, his chakra now running very low. "You understand the power that went into that Jutsu Jiraiya?" Fukasaku asked, both he and Shima looking at Tri as he continued to let his Jutsu bleed away as quickly as he dared.

"Yeah, I noticed." Jiraiya dryly replied as Naruto dropped down behind him, a brush in hand. With a quick flick of the brush and a hand seal Naruto broke the seal on his shoulder. "I hope you realise how lucky you were Jiraiya. You've not seen how devastating that Jutsu is." Naruto bluntly put to him, he just grunted, eyes still on Tri as the red ball in his hand finally extinguished.

Tri was frozen, he'd allowed anger to cloud his mind and thusly attempted to use a Jutsu that could have potentially killed everyone watching, his comrades, his friends, his siblings, his parents. All might have died because he couldn't control his emotions. He didn't Shunshin away like Jiraiya did, he slowly and dejectedly trudged across the arena floor and walked straight up the wall.

He walked passed everyone without a word and sat in an empty seat.

Itachi was the first to speak, "I thought we'd discussed your using that," Tri sighed, "I know." Shizune gasped as she saw Tri's left hand, it was covered in scorch marks and shallow cuts and was twitching slightly. Rushing forward, she sat in the seat next to him before placing both of her already glowing green hands around his, surveying the self-inflicted damage. "Thank you Shizune-chan," he spoke softly, thanking one of his oldest friends and teachers.

It was then he noticed something, "Shizune-chan, I can't feel anything in my left arm." She looked up in alarm before shifting her attention elsewhere on his arm. She allowed her chakra to seep into his arm feeling for the nerves and chakra pathways, what she found troubled her deeply. "Tsunade-sama, I need your help," she asked of her Sensei.

"With what?" the blonde Sannin inquired. "Because repairing chakra pathways that are this damaged is beyond me." That grabbed Tsunade's full attention as she knelt down in front of him, her hands replacing Shizune's.

"BAKA!" Tri heard Kushina shout before her hand slammed down on his head causing him to wince, his head still hurt thanks to Jiraiya's punches. He sighed again, "I'm sorry, Kaa-chan," he said mutely, not daring to make eye contact lest she clip him around the head again. "Don't Kaa-chan me, I know a Kinjutsu when I see one," only getting a glum nod in return. Her anger quickly subsiding as she wrapped her arms around his head pulling him into a hug, "Baka," she said again. Tri finally lifted his head enough to look at those around him, Shizune and Tsunade were focused on his arm, Hiruzen wore a neutral expression. Naruto and Itachi looked un-impressed while Rezano and Minusha looked a little scared.

Tri sighed again.

* * *

Word had spread like wildfire around the village, the details of the fight between Tri and Jiraiya spreading. The descriptions of the two great Rasengans moments from clashing, only halted by the Hokage's personal intervention.

The two instigators were both lined up in the centre of the Hokage's office. Minato sat behind his desk, Fukasaku and Shima were both sat atop it. The blonde haired Hokage was flanked on his left by Kushina, Hiruzen on his right. Shizune, Tsunade and Kakashi were against one wall; Naruto and Itachi against the other. Everyone was under no illusions and were expecting Tri and Jiraiya to get a serious dressing down for their actions.

And that's exactly what they were about to get. "Would either of you care to explain?" Minato asked. "I told you I wouldn't be held responsible for what happens," Jiraiya replied to which Minato immediately snapped back. "To the both of you, not for endangering the crowd. The fact that you were willing to use such powerful Rasengans are a testament to that. And as for you," he declared turning his gaze upon Tri.

"Naruto, you know the Jutsu your brother was about to use?"  
"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Then explain." Naruto nodded before stepping forward. "As I mentioned earlier, it's a Rasengan with both nature and shape transformation added, I've only seen it attempted once, that was enough. However I'm not able to explain the advanced mechanics behind the creation of and control of it." Minato nodding as he listened, "Very well, thank you Naruto-kun, Tri-kun continue," Minato replied.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Tri spoke, stepping forward as Naruto stepped back. "What would you like to know?" He asked his father. "How did you incorporate Katon chakra into the Rasengan?" Tri nodded before speaking.

"Firstly, it's not Katon chakra, I use Shakuton chakra." It took all of Minato's willpower to keep his jaw from dropping as well as pulling his hair out in frustration. There were similar battles around the room. "So you attempted what no one else is capable off, not with a regular chakra nature but instead a Kekkai Genkai, Correct?"  
"Hai, Hokage-sama."  
"Continue," he said through clenched teeth.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Combining my Shakuton chakra with the Rasengan wasn't the hard part, it was containing it. That much volatile chakra in so small a confine, it wants to fly apart. So to contain it I place a layer of Fūton chakra around it."  
"Explains why his arm is cut to ribbons," Tsunade remarked.

"What happens if you don't use the layer of Fūton chakra lad?" Fukasaku asked. "The Shakuton chakra overwhelms the confines of the Rasengan and all shape is lost, he answered."

"What would have happened if you had lost control of your Jutsu before you could allow it to bleed away?" Minato continued his questioning.

Tri's reply was blunt and to the point, "The arena would likely have been flattened with a substantial loss of life." Jiraiya scoffed at his estimation only for Itachi to shoot the Sannin down. "He's not embellishing Jiraiya-san. Last time the crater left behind was nearly thirty feet wide and that had far less chakra involved." Jiraiya was going to retort but decided against it at the last moment.

"Tsunade-san, what do you make of the damage done to Tri'-kun's arm?"

"The damage is all self-inflicted. Tri-san has utterly overwhelmed and near destroyed the Chakra network in his left arm simply by the amount of chakra he's forced through it. That in turn has severely damaged the nerve bundles which is why he can't feel anything. All this damage I can repair but it will take time."  
"How long?"  
"I would estimate a month of daily sessions to repair the damage, another month for physical therapy and perhaps an entire year before he displays the same level of control in the arm."

Minato sighed, "Very well, Tsunade-san, thank you." He shut his eyes and started thinking about what the appropriate punishment would be. Truthfully there was only really one punishment that was, he opened his eyes again.

"Tri-kun, your Hitai-ate," while his words earned winces from several in the room, Tri wasn't one of them as he calmly removed it from his forehead. He handed it over to Minato's outstretched hand. "You are hereby suspended from Konohagakure's Shinobi forces effective immediately, only to be reinstated when you are medically fit to do so."

"I understand, Hokage-sama," he quietly stated.

"All but Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiruzen and Kushina leave," Minato stated, everyone else began to filter out. Whilst doing so Tri's eyes meet Itachi's, Itachi nodded slightly to his long-time friend.

Their conversation was brief and quickly it was only Minato and Jiraiya left and the Sannin was already making moves to leave via the window as he normally did. "Oh, Jiraiya, one more thing," Minato suddenly said. "Mock him like that again and I'll make sure you regret it. You of all people should understand how it feels to fail someone," he snarled.

* * *

Tri closed the front door, slipping off his sandals. It had been several hours since he'd left the Hokage's office and he'd passed the time just wondering aimlessly around the village. From the Hokage monument to the markets and from one end of the wall to the other.

He'd seen the scared look on his sisters face earlier, it was tearing at him mentally. It was why he'd accepted his suspension without question.

Kushina was sat at the table with her youngest sat next to her, Minusha wasn't due to start at the Academy for another two years but they'd recently introduced her to basic Fūinjutsu amongst a few other subjects. She'd heard the front door but raised her head as the door from the hall to the dining room opened.

"Evening, Tri-kun," Kushina welcomed her son. "Kaa-chan," he replied, both of them saw Minusha tense as he spoke. Deciding to deal with it immediately Tri walked around the table.

"Minusha-chan, can I talk to you," Tri softly asked his youngest sibling. Minusha only stood from her seat after receiving a reassuring squeeze on the back of her neck from her Kaa-chan. Leaving the table to stand in front of her brother as he squatted down in front of her, bring them face to face although Minusha was looking at the floor.

He took her hands in his. "Minusha-chan, I'm sorry if I scared you today." She lifted her face to look at him, he could see she was on the brink of crying as a single tear ran down her face. "Please don't cry Minusha-chan," he said wiping the tear away. He lent his head forward, bringing their foreheads together.

"Minusha-chan, I would never do anything to hurt you." That proved to be too much as Minusha broke into tears and rushed forward, wrapping her arms around his neck she nearly bowling them both over. He just wrapped his arms around her in return and held her close as she quietly sobbed into his shoulder. Kushina had to wipe away a tear of her own watching two of her children.

She may not have carried Tri in her for nine months and he may have been five when he entered her life but he was as much a son to her as Naruto and Rezano.

While his display a few hours prior had alarmed her, she was proud of how strong Tri had become, of how strong all her children were becoming. Rezano was beginning to show himself as one of the most talented in his year, Minusha had begun to display a mature intelligence for her age. Naruto, only hours earlier had displayed the most revered of Kekkai Genkai on top of his already known substantial ability.

Picking her up in his arms he asked, "What were you working on Minusha-chan?" having noticed the scrolls and brushes on the table. "Kaa-chan is teaching me about seals," she replied rubbing her now red eyes. "Seals huh, Fūinjutsu's quickly reasserting itself as the family trademark, eh Kaa-chan," getting a smile out of the red-haired woman as he walked back to the table. Depositing Minusha back in her chair he channelling chakra into a storage seal on his right bicep six little handbooks popped into his hand, one of which he handed to Minusha. Putting the books down as he pulled a chair out sitting down next to Minusha who's attention was fully focussed on the little green book in her hands.

Having sat down, he picked up the first and handed it to Minusha who happily opened it. "You're really good at seals aren't you Onii-chan?".

"One of the best Minusha-chan," Kushina answered, she too looking at the book, reading over her daughter's shoulder. Each page was laid out similar to an entry in a Bingo book. There was a picture of a seal, its name at the top of the page. The rest of the page was split between instructions for drawing, the seals uses and in bold at the bottom of the page was a number.

Kushina however didn't recognise any of the seals she saw as Minusha flicked through the pages. "Tri-chan, are these seals your own designs?" He nodded, handing her a book from the bottom of the pile. Letting it fall open in her hand, she read looking through the book.

She flicked through several pages, some pages were completely filled out, others with only bits and pieces. "Not all of them are finished as you can tell, I have an idea, I write it down and explore the viability of the idea, some work, some don't. Some are from my imagination, others born of necessity, page 37 for example."

 **F** licking forward the few more pages brought her to the title ' **Anti-Rape Seal'**. "That mission?" Kushina sombrely asked. He nodded, "It's not just me, Naruto has numerous personal protection seals that serve similar purposes. We both simply refused to do nothing about it following that disaster so we put our heads together and both came up with a prevention seal. His is finished, mine however isn't."

Seeing that he now had his mother's undivided attention. "Naruto's design is choice based, it activates when the Kunoichi channels chakra into it. Mine is intention based, whether it activates or not is dependent on whether the penetration is consensual or forced. I've not yet figured out a way for the seal to differentiate between the two. I also wanted to simplify the seal design to the point where you didn't need more than a level 2 or 3 knowledge of Fūinjutsu to apply it. And you know that when you simplify a seal you make it far more complex to design."

"Nii-chan, can you show me how to use some of these?" Their attention was drawn back to the young girl between them, "Sure Minusha-chan, but you'll need to have learnt enough about Fūinjutsu to use them safely. The big number at the bottom of each page tells you what level of Fūinjutsu you need to be at to learn too."  
"Ok Nii-chan, could you help teach me too?"  
"Of Course, if your Kaa-chan and Tou-san are too busy and I'm around, you only need to ask," he said. "Besides I suddenly have an awful lot of free time…" he sombrely added, making sure he was quiet enough so no one heard him. "Yay," Minusha cheers as she picked up the brush she'd been using and went back to practising.

Unseen by all them, out in the hallway Minato was peering in at them, the door slightly ajar. He was a relieved man. He knew that retrospective action was needed following Tri's actions. But his black and red haired son had accepted his suspension, almost like he'd expected it, perhaps he had. And to now just hours later see Tri display the presence of mind to alleviate the concerns of others put a smile on his face.

* * *

Minato wasn't the only one who worried about the events of today. Fugaku was made anxious by what he'd seen only hours before.

"Fugaku-sama, we can't delay any longer. Bringing down Minato and Kushina would have been difficult enough but for their firstborn to display Mokuton changes everything. Every day we wait is another day for him to get stronger," a member of the Uchiha clan shouted out.

Pretty much the entire clan was assembled, they'd all subconsciously made their way to the Uchiha's secret meeting place, no one had called them but they knew there was much to be discussed.

"Not to mention their half-breed abomination possesses the Sharingan, the eye cannot be allowed to exist outside of the clan!" another shouted. The majority of those assembled were arguing amongst themselves, it meant the room was a cacophony of noise.

To push the plan forward meant losing nearly six months, half a year that could be used to plan, train and scheme but six months of openly training with Mokuton might mean Naruto learnt how to suppress the Kyūbi's chakra. If that happened then he might be able to prevent its escape and if that happened they'd likely be soundly defeated.

The plan to release the Kyūbi from within Minato's youngest son was one known to very few, only he, a few close confidants and the clan elders knew of it but it formed the lynchpin of their coup.

One of the clan elders who had up to this point been sat silently next to Fugaku spoke. "If the plan is to be brought forward then there is an opportune time on the horizon." His words grabbed Fugaku's attention and he leaned over slightly in his chair.

"The Iwa delegation arrives in a fortnight or so, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter Kurotsuchi will be among them. While they are here the Hokage's attention will be focussed on ensuring their talks go well and the boy Naruto made a lot of noise about being her liaison so he'll be occupied too. It'll be much easier to get to the youngest son."

Fugaku nodded in agreement, it met their newly discovered criteria and presented the best opportunity they were likely to get. With that he stood from his cushion and the gathered clan members silenced in moments.

"Today's events have made it clear that we cannot delay, the plan must be brought forward…"

Fugaku laid out the basis of their new timescale, the details of the plan remained relatively unchanged. As he spoke, unseen at the back of the room hidden in a dark corner was one Uchiha who wasn't grinning from ear to ear.

Itachi listened as his father continued talking, while he was a gentle soul he couldn't stop the anger from simmering away in his gut, the three tomoe of his Sharingan spinning menacingly.

' _This I will not allow to come to pass_ ,' he silently declared as the tomoe slowly morphed into the three-pointed pinwheel.

* * *

 **And thus another mini-ark comes to an end. You can probably tell what the next arc is. And as a heads up, I'm going away next weekend (25th-28th) so if the next chapter is finished in time then I'll publish it on the Thursday (24th), if not then it'll be the following Friday (1st June).**

 **Also have another Omake.**

* * *

Omake Entry Two:

The Prodigal Trio meet Gai's Trio part 1 – Naruto

Naruto walked between the trees trailing his fingers along the broad leaves of the bushes or the bark of the trees. He paid little attention to the goings-on around him, he zoned out the chirping of the birds, the rustle of forest critter scurrying in the undergrowth.

He'd been walking for nearly half an hour now, he was heading for an old foe, one he hadn't seen since before he left to join the Jūnishi. He was fully decked out in his Shinobi gear, his recently awarded Jōnin vest over his chest.

He was pulled back to reality by the sound of voices just up ahead. He made them out as Shinobi judging by the chakra signatures he could faintly detect besides civilians didn't come out here, it was easy to get lost in the endless sea of trees.

Who it might be intrigued Naruto, not many knew of this place and even fewer actually came here.

"YOSH!" he heard in the distance.

' _Well that's a giveaway_.'

He pushed through the final batch of bushes and wild hedges and broke into the large clearing. A circular clearing with flat grassy ground flanked on three sides by trees with a vast cliff face flanking the fourth at the back.

The clearing, usually empty today wasn't. Sat on the grass were three young pre-teen Genin, two with their Hitai-ate's around their foreheads, the third had it wrapped around their waist. ' _That one bears far too great a resemblance to Gai-kun,_ ' Naruto worriedly though, one Gai was more than enough. ' _He's wearing the same green jumpsuit, the same arm and leg warmers and.. wait are those the same eyebrows…_ '

Speaking of Gai, the man himself was enthusiastically explaining his Genin's soon to be long-term task, albeit only one of the three were still listening to him, the other two had turned their attention to Naruto who silently stood against a tree so as not to disturb Gai.

Eventually the two looking at him, a girl and a boy turned back to their Sensei. The girl he didn't recognise at all but the boy had the look of a Hyūga, the traditional clothing, the blank yet still somehow sour look on his face and obviously the almost totally white eyes.

"Do you understand, my youthful students!"  
"Hai, Gai-sensei," mini-Gai as Naruto would now nickname him replied, mini-Gai's two teammates only nodding in silence.

"Gai-sensei?" mini-Gai asked, "Who is that?" he said pointing at Naruto. Gai followed his raised arm and finally noticed Naruto. In an instant Gai had grabbed Naruto into a big hug that lifted him off his feet. "Naruto-kun!" he jubilantly shouted much to the distress of Naruto's ears. He was more concerned, however, that Gai's hug might fracture some of his ribs. "Nice to see you too, Gai-kun," he wheezed.

Gai finally released him allowing him to draw in a much-needed lungful of air. "This my students is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, son of the Hokage. I used to help with his training before he joined the Academy and recently returned from a multi-year stint with the Shugonin Jūnishi. Naruto-kun, these are my three youthful Genin, Tenten, Hyūga Neji and Rock Lee," he proudly introduced.

Naruto gave the trio a two finger wave but was nearly jerked off his feet moments later as Gai pulled him by the arm towards the cliff. "You arrival is most opportune, I have just introduced my Genin to the same cliff-face challenge I set you and your former teammates."

"Well funnily enough Gai-kun, that's why I'm here," Naruto admitted.

At his admittance Gai stopped trying to pull his arm out of its socket. "Most excellent, even after becoming a Jūnishi you remember the challenges I set you. YOUR YOUTH STILL BURNS STRONG!" he loudly declared, his voice actually echoing once or twice.

"One arm, one hour, no chakra was it?" Naruto asked. "It is indeed Naruto-kun," Gai confirmed. The blonde rolled his shoulders, feeling his two blades strapped to his back move as well. "Best take these off," he said as he withdrew them, sheath and all.

He heard a female voice gasp behind him. He turned to face the young girl, her eyes not veering from the twin blades he now held in his hands. "Weapons mistress?" he guessed/ inquired of Gai, "Yes, she doesn't specialise in any particular weapon per say but she practises constantly with pretty much every kind of weapon she can get her hands on."

Naruto walked towards the girl and sat down in front of her, "Am I able to leave these in your care while I do this?" he asked her, the look she gave him made Naruto laugh. To Tenten it was as if her birthday had come early.

He held out the shorter of the two, "Kagizume," he said as she took it in her hands, one on the scabbard, the other on the hilt, "May I?" she hopefully asked, elated when he nodded, "Just watch the Tsuba (Crossguard), they're sharpened," he warned. She slowly pulled the twelve-inch blade from its wooden scabbard. She looked at the weapon in wonder, the extremely intricate detailing travelling the length of the blade.

"Can you feel the small metal bumps protruding from the Sa-Me (Stingray skin) between the Ito? (Cloth Bindings)." She nodded. "Push some of your chakra into through them," he said with a grin. She did as he asked and went wide-eyed in amazement as the blade began glowing azure blue.

"Chakra metal," Neji said to nobody in particular. "They are," Naruto confirmed, nodding. "Aren't chakra metal swords expensive?" Lee asked. "They are," a dreamy-eyed Tenten said, "the chakra metal kunai my dad makes cost 1000 Ryo each and they only have a coating of chakra metal. I dread to think how much these two cost."  
"A lot," Naruto bluntly answered. "Both are completely chakra metal all the way through, all together Kagizume (Talons) cost around 500,000 Ryo while Kuchibashi (Beak) here cost just over 900,000 Ryo.

There was an awful lot of silence following the revealing of their prices. "Naruto-kun, I know the Jūnishi get paid a lot but surely even your salary wouldn't stretch that far," Gai said. "While that may be true Gai-kun, I didn't pay for them. They were a gift."

"You were gifted a pair of swords worth nearly one and a half million Ryo? Who on earth can afford to dispense such expensive gifts?" a disbelieving Neji questioned. "The Daimyō of Hi No Kuni can," Naruto answered, "All Jūnishi are given a gift when their service comes to an end. These were his gift to me."

Tenten sheathed Kagizume as Naruto held out Kuchibashi, she was surprised by heavy the longer blade was. "Heavy ain't it," Naruto said as she placed both blades across her lap. Naruto stood once more and walked back towards the stone wall that towered over him. He looked up, from this close he struggled to make out the top.

"Gai-kun, what's your best time on this?"  
"38 minutes and 12 seconds, why?"  
"Just wondering," he said with a smile and with that he leapt to grasp his first-handhold.

* * *

End Chapter

 **BalthazarTheAngel / EeveeTheImmortal** : As tempting as it was to have Tri beat Jiraiya there was no way for him to realistically do so, hopefully you enjoyed the compromise.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

* * *

 **BalthazarTheAngel** : Glad you enjoyed it friend.

 **Pyre101** : Thank you! I thought for quite a while on whether to give Naruto Mokuton or go for something else such as Hyōton, I even considered Shōton but the dynamic I can get between Naruto and Rezano proved too tempting, a young Jinchuriki with a brother who possesses a Kekkai Genkai that can suppress Bijū chakra. And in regards to Jiraiya I think I see what your getting at.

 **Moe** : Ah, a fine example of a comment that puts a smile on my face, thank you!. Don't worry, I don't intend to leave this fic unfinished and did you say you wanted more Naru/Kuro? Well you timed that magnificently! Have a chapter featuring some of just that.

* * *

Escort duty, meeting the team and setting the stage

* * *

" **We're all set to cross the border into Hi No Kuni in the next hour or two."**

Naruto couldn't help but grin, he was staring down at the words etched onto the two-way communication scroll in his hands before they faded away. Thankfully it was still early, the sun hadn't come up yet so none of his team could see the goofy grin plastered on his face.

Naruto and his squad were waiting at the Konoha-Taki border to receive the Iwa entourage and safely escort them to Konoha. Naruto wrote his reply before setting the scroll down.

" **We're here and ready to receive you."**

With the scroll put aside Naruto let his mind ponder over the events of the past week and a half or so, ever since the friendly and not so friendly bouts. As was to be expected the four fights were the talk of the town, Naruto had had many conversations on just that with fellow Jōnin at the standby station.

Now that he thought about it why did he waste away several hours a day at the Standby Station, he was never going to be sent on a mission, not with the one he was now on coming up.

Despite no missions he at least still had a few things to occupy himself, Rezano had asked if Naruto could teach him the Kage Bunshin, which with Tou-sans blessing he did. Naruto had asked that he keep it to himself for now especially when you considered just how many clones Rezano could spawn.

Tri could manage about sixty or seventy at maximum. Rezano managed the same number almost effortlessly, sure he was an Uzumaki but even for an Uzumaki he had abnormally large chakra reserves. It was a credit to his tutors and Rezano himself that his chakra control was as good as it was. Then Naruto had told him about the training applications that Kage Bunshin could be utilised in.

Now as far as Naruto could tell Rezano enjoyed training anyway but the zeal he attacked his training sessions in the immediate aftermath of this revelation astounded even a trainaholic like Naruto. His Otouto had never really enjoyed chakra control exercises or reading scrolls but now he didn't even have to do them himself, he could have clones do it instead.

His time wasn't just devoted to Rezano, he'd overseen another handful of training sessions with Rezano's friend Hinata. His time at the Standby Station had revealed to him that very few in the Hyūga clan though much of young Hinata and expected her younger sister Hanabi to assume the girls place as clan heir.

Frankly Naruto found it laughable, what he'd gotten from the training sessions with Hinata was that she was a bright, intelligent girl who had more than enough talent if you could coax it out of her. Naruto loathed to think what the environment was like in the Hyūga clan but it must have been crushing, Hinata was utterly devoid of self-esteem. She constantly doubted herself and needlessly apologised if she didn't get something exactly right immediately.

But she did respond well to positive reinforcement, she beamed from ear to ear when she was congratulated for something, especially when it was Rezano. Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that Hinata had a crush on his youngest brother.

His attention was drawn back to the scroll as more text began to reveal itself.

" **You know, some very intriguing rumours reached us a few days ago. Something about some blonde showing off a long thought extinct Kekkai Genkai."**

Naruto silently laughed, it was inevitable that the tales of what had transpired in Konoha's arena would travel across country borders eventually. Picking up the inkless brush he wrote his reply.

" **I've heard similar rumours, I'd be more than happy to discuss such rumours with you at a later date."**

His answer was deliberately vague but Kurotsuchi was intelligent enough to spot his real meaning, ' _We'll discuss it in private._ '

Again he put the scroll down as he awaited any reply, the transfer of messages took a little while dependent on distance, the further away the two scrolls were, the longer it took but at this distance it would only take a minute or two. And as Naruto expected he got his reply momentarily.

" **Ok, I underst"**

The message just stopped, ' _Huh, not like her to not finish a message._ ' He waited, seeing if the rest of the message would arrive. It didn't. ' _Perhaps she had to hide the scroll so one of the other Iwa representatives didn't see it?_ ' he wondered. After all only four people knew the scrolls existed.

He put it out of his mind and half dozed, despite being awake he wasn't on guard duty, that was left to Hana and her three canine companions. So he leant back against the trunk of the tree he was currently sitting in as he rolled the scroll back up and placed it back in one his storage seals.

The orange hue on the horizon signalling the imminent arrival of the sun made for a pleasant sight and there was a gentle south-easterly breeze that would take the edge off the ever rising temperature until about midday where it wasn't enough anymore.

Hana was bored, yes she should have been paying better attention to her surroundings but it was kind of difficult not to switch off when you have three Ninken with more acute senses than she did. Although it was possible they weren't paying much attention either. She could tell Naruto was awake despite it being her shift as guard, she'd heard he'd pushed hard to be assigned this mission so maybe he couldn't sleep?

The young Inuzuka heir, now a Chūnin of nearly two years pondered her CO, if it wasn't for the distinctive blonde hair and bright blue eyes she wouldn't have recognised him when he'd first returned from the capital. Gone was the chipper pre-teen to be replaced by a far more serious-faced teenager, sure he was still cheerful but he'd mostly buried that part of him the moment they'd left the village two days ago.

' _We're all adults now, we're all grown up,_ ' she thought running her hand over the Chūnin jacket she'd been using as a pillow of sorts to make leaning against the tree trunk more comfortable. She looped her arms back through her flak vest and zipped it back up, the zip only got halfway.

Hana let out a quiet but exacerbated sigh, while those who once comprised her Academy class might have mostly finished developing physically, her chest had decided otherwise. She'd already changed the vest once before and if her breasts grew much more she'd have to change it again. She sucked her torso in and finally got the zip three-quarters of the way up as she liked it, any higher and she may as well have worn a corset.

She looked around her position, her three Ninken were at the base of the tree she was in, the rest of the squad spread around in the nearby trees. There was her, Naruto, a highly experienced Chūnin called Suzushii who was definitely one of the more… bearable members of the Hyūga clan and their final member, a young Chūnin like herself called Shinsuke.

She stared off into the distance as she continued grumbling under her breath about stupid vest designs when she heard her Ninken start to quietly growl. Immediately she leant over to look down at them and sure enough all three were growling and looking in the same direction. Quietly she dropped down next to them, she looked in the direction they did but couldn't see anything. It was then a scent hit her nose.

It was a scent she was unfamiliar with but it was definitely human. The growling from her dogs was enough to wake the others as Suzushii appeared next to her. "I can smell someone on the breeze, they're unknown to me," she informed the Hyūga. Catching her meaning the veins bulged around his eyes as he turned his Kekkai Genkai in the same direction.

"There's a single person coming towards us, male, maybe 25. They're moving quickly too," he relayed as Naruto appeared next to them. "Can you make out a Hitai-ate?" he asked. Suzushii nodded, "Hai, Iwagakure."  
"Wake Shinsuke," Naruto ordered, "And be ready to move out asap."

The following minutes were rather hectic as equipment was packed and Shinsuke kicked awake much to his annoyance. So when the Iwa nin arrived the Konoha team was ready to receive him.

"Who's in charge," he said, gasping for air. "I am Iwa-san, what's happened?"  
"W-We were ambushed by a group of nuke-nin near the border. I was ordered to find you and request your aid," the final few words Naruto could tell were spoken through clenched teeth. "Of course Iwa-san. You are our guests and guests are afforded appropriate protection," he calmly replied.

Turning to his team he made a series of hand gestures that the Iwa Shinobi didn't understand. His three team members nodded their understanding. "Let's move," he declared and the eight of them vanished into the trees.

"Suzushii, as soon as you see someone take point," Naruto shouted over to the Hyūga. "Hai," he curtly replied.

They continued in formation with Hana taking point, her Ninken spread in a semi-circle in front of her. Naruto took the left and Suzushii the right with Shinsuke bringing up the rear. The unnamed Iwa nin was in the formations protected centre.

It was nearly ten minutes before Suzushii's voice was heard again. "I can see them Naruto. The Iwa Shinobi appear to be conducting a fighting withdrawal towards us, around two dozen hostile combatants," he said as he moved to the front of the formation, Hana seamlessly falling back to take his former position on the right.

It was only ANBU squads that were officially kept together long-term but groups of four Shinobi that had good chemistry and worked together well were more often than not sent on missions with each other.  
Naruto's team was just such an example. He and Hana were Academy friends, Suzushii while at times bit stiff personality wise was quite an agreeable person while Shinsuke, a year younger than he and Hana provided the light-hearted element. They were a strange mix but then again you could describe all Shinobi squads with similar terms.

But Naruto as the Jōnin, gave the orders, Suzushii, a Chūnin in his late teens provided experience and advice as Naruto's number 2. While Hana and Shinsuke, both relatively young Chūnin provided the banter, constantly throwing double entendres and at one another and managing to balance light-hearted and outrageous together with they're what might be considered flirting. But when it came time to get serious they were all highly capable. All in all Naruto had grown very fond of 'his' team.

"Suzushii, time to contact?" Naruto called over to him. "Twenty seconds." Lifting his right hand to the hilt of Kuchibashi he ran his thumb along the cross-guard, drawing blood. "Alright squad, put all hostiles down quickly, maim, knock out or kill, I care not which," he instructed as he went through five hand-seals.

" **Kuchiyose no Jutsu.** "

* * *

Kurotsuchi and the rest of the Iwa Shinobi had been fighting near nonstop for nearing half an hour now. She'd sent one of her Shinobi to retrieve the Konoha squad waiting for them across the border. ' _Nice to know that Taki squad that was shadowing us have suddenly vanished_ ,' she bitter thought as she caught a kunai out of the air, spun and threw it back.

The assailant she'd thrown it at ducked under it as another made a lunge at her with a sword but was brought to a halt by an ear-splitting screech that made everyone cover their ears.

For several nuke-nin it would be an action that cost them their lives. Three suddenly found themselves being mauled by huge dogs, the one that had dodged the kunai Kurotsuchi had thrown found herself impaled on a glowing blade while the one who'd tried to run her through suffered a miserable fate.

Kurotsuchi watched on with wide eyes as they were lifted clean off the ground by a huge bird.

For Suuki it was a dreadful way to die. He had been about to drive his sword through the Iwa bitch's chest when the bird got him. It's talons tearing through the flesh and tendons of his shoulders as it lifted him up. His arms fell limply by his sides, the sword slipping from his slack fingers as he cried in agony, all feeling in his arms gone. His senses were overloaded and he was panicked as he desperately tried to shake free of the creatures vice-like grip.

He was nearly twenty feet off the ground, still desperately trying to get free when the bird let go. His sense of elation was brief in the extreme and was quickly replaced by terror as the ground approached far too fast.

* **Snap** *

Suuki wailed in agony as his right leg broke the moment he hit the ground. His cries of pain were muffled as he landed face down in the grass and dirt. The ground shuddered underfoot as the great Falcon landed next to him. Suuki couldn't move, with one leg broken and both arms rendered useless.

It meant he was helpless as a great talon stood on an arm, the other on his unbroken leg. With him held in place the creatures beak bit into his flesh below the shoulder blades and with one firm pull tore the lower half of Suuki's spine out, Suuki's overwhelming misery came to an end.

Kurotsuchi had watched on, engrossed and horrified by the extreme display of violence. She felt queasy when the spine was ripped out.

She jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning her head she saw it was Naruto. "Are you alright?" he asked. She looked around to see that the fight was over, ' _I froze up,_ ' she mentally winced. She glumly nodded as she watched one of the other Konoha ninja pull another of the assailant's heads back by the hair and cut their throat with a kunai, the body simply kicked away as the blood spurted into the air.

It seemed it was over, all the assailants seemed to be dead as Naruto's team and some of the Iwa shinobi began piling up the bodies.

One of the 'bodies' proved to not be as dead as first thought as they tried to make a break for it. Naruto's head spun around, "Horus!" he shouted to his large summon. The great Falcon trained its eyes on the back of the young woman running. It let out another ear-piercing shriek that instantly dropped them to the floor where they stayed as Suzushii went to retrieve them.

"Is she?"  
"Dead? No, just incapacitated," Naruto said, answering Kurotsuchi's question. "But she is deaf now though," he added. "What?"  
"The shriek, when it's directed like that it incapacitates and permanently deafens them," he explained as Suzushii dragged them over. "What do you wish done with her Naruto?" the Hyūga asked with a kunai in hand, ready to open her jugular if ordered. "Restrain her, we'll hand her over to the T&I division." He nodded as he withdrew a reel of steel wire.

"Not going to get many answers out of her are you if she's now deaf," one of the Iwa contingent spat. Naruto turned to face him before diplomatically answering, "We'll just let a Yamanaka take a stroll through her mind, words are unnecessary. Now do any of your group need medical attention?"

Naruto's answer had headed off any arguments superbly, "Thankfully just cuts and bruises. It could have been much worse" he admitted. Naruto nodded his agreement, "Shinsuke, see to the bodies." The Chūnin duly followed through, a quick Katon Jutsu soon setting the corpses on fire.

"Horus, are injured at all?" Naruto asked his summon. " _I am unharmed Naruto-san, thank you_. _If that will be all I shall depart_ ," Horus replied in his mind. Naruto nodded, "Thank you," he said as the Falcon was replaced by a puff of smoke.

"Do you want me to see to that cut on your arm?" Naruto asked the pink-eyed Jōnin as he turned his attention back to her. It was only his mentioning it that made Kurotsuchi realise she actually had a cut on her right forearm to begin with.

She answered by lifting her arm, allowing his glowing hands to gently wrap around the wound.

"We were most fortunate today, to only have cuts and bruises from such a large engagement is a testament to the abilities of our Iwa counterparts," Suzushii said to his two teammates. "You can say that again Suzu," Shinsuke remarked much to the Hyūga's annoyance. "I really wish you would refrain from calling me that," Suzushii sighed, the other two laughing at his expense.

"Oh come now Suzushii, everyone's gotta have a nickname, the only rule is that you can't give yourself one, someone else has to do it for you. Really I'm doing you a favour."  
"He has a point Suzushii, someone could have been a right dick and given you a simply awful nickname," Hana chimed in as she continued wiping the blood from around her Ninken's mouths.

*Sigh*, "Can we talk about something else…" he asked more in hope than expectation. "Sure," Shinsuke said all too nicely as he stretched his arms above his head, getting a series of satisfying clicks and cracks from various joints. "Boy I can't wait until we get back to the village," he said. Hana rolled her eyes, "Of course, how could we possibly forget, you say the same thing on every mission that ends with us killing someone, you shag this mysterious pretty lady of yours," Hana sarcastically retorted. "Guilty as charged," Shinsuke replied with a grin.

"Ah, is this the same lady whose chest dimensions change by the week?" Suzushii teased. "Shush you," Shinsuke weakly fired back. "Besides, I wouldn't need to mention her at all if you'd only accept my invitation Hana-chan," he said. "And as tempting as your offer may sound Shinsuke-kun, my boobs are simply too great for mere mortals such as yourself," she replied, her voice at it's sweetest, most melodious.

"You two are simply terrible, Hana wins this round," Suzushii laughed as Shinsuke managed to pout and cry crocodile tears simultaneously.

"Are your team always like that?" asked a bewildered Kurotsuchi, listening to the conversation that had just transpired seemed surreal to her. "What going from killing people to talking about boobs?" Naruto asked as if he'd read her mind, she nodded.

He shrugged his shoulders, "It's just how they are, I want them to be able to freely express themselves so long as they don't offend or insult one another or anyone we interact with. I only ask that they be deadly serious when the mission itself gets serious and each of them do exactly that."  
"But don't conversations like that weird you out?"

Naruto thought on her question a moment, "No, not really, not anymore anyway. I-We, all got used to it. Hana gives as good as she gets if that's what's bothering you." Naruto turned to face his team, "Suzushii, what's the score now?"

"72 to 49 in favour of Hana," the Hyūga replied. "Definitely gives more than she gets," Naruto chuckled.

"How long will it take us to reach your village?" one of the older Iwa Shinobi asked. "36 to 48 hours, depends on how quickly you want to go," Naruto replied as he finished healing the cut on Kurotsuchi's arm. "The decision lies with you Kurotsuchi-sama," another noted. The young woman thought about it for a few moments. "Let's pick up the pace, I'm not particularly enamoured with the endless trees."

* * *

 **Sixteen Hours Later**

Their missing-nin prisoner was unceremoniously dumped on the floor by the two clones of Naruto who'd been carrying her. She'd woken up once or twice during the day but was quickly rendered unconscious again with a swift strike to the back of the neck.

"Hana, wake the prisoner and see to her needs. Shinsuke, make camp. Suzushii, scout and food duty," Naruto said dishing out orders to his team, all nodded and silently went to work. Kurotsuchi did similar with her larger number of Shinobi. It meant that the two young Shinobi were alone for a few brief moments. "Suzushii is on guard duty third," Naruto quietly said to her cryptically, she heard him and understood.

The following few hours was relatively calm, Naruto's and Kurotsuchi's teams for the most part ignored one another and left the intermingling to their respective Commanding Officers. The Iwa Shinobi quietly talked amongst themselves, not raising their voices higher than was needed, couldn't have the Konoha team eavesdropping after all. Conversely Naruto's trio were jovial, they weren't loud but they weren't quiet either as they laughed and joked the evening away.

"How did you meet your team?" Kurotsuchi asked him before she began chewing her way through another mouthful of cooked venison from a deer one of her Shinobi had caught. "I was given a mission some six months ago but I didn't have any squad members so I rounded these three up from the Chūnin station. We worked together really well so we took another together, then another and before long the three of them had pretty much become my first choice Chūnin."

Kurotsuchi nodded as she listened, "It's weird to see them so cheery while still on a mission, my teams were always jumpy, startled by the slightest rustle in a hedge."  
"Not all Konoha teams are like this, most are as you put it, jumpy. But Hana's three Ninken are a superb early warning system, they realised your Shinobi was coming towards us before we did. So they feel a little more at ease."

"I find myself surprised by the lack of Honorifics, Naruto-san," one of the nearest Iwa nin said. "Standard procedure for my team Iwa-san. None of us uses Honorifics unless in the presence of the Hokage, but especially so when on a mission."  
"Why so on missions?"  
"How do you distinguish the squad leader? Or the chain of command in general," Naruto answered with a question of his own. "Ah," the Iwa Shinobi muttered in understanding. You could distinguish Commanding Officers by the Honorifics their subordinates gave them, Naruto simply removed that possibility.

The potential for further conversation seemed to stop there and before long most had found their way to bedrolls, or tree branches for those wearing Konoha Hitai-ate's.

Naruto dozed lightly after taking the first guard shift. It wasn't long before he felt someone appeared in his tree and sit down next to him. Opening his eyes it was as expected Kurotsuchi who leaned back on the tree trunk just as he was. She kept wriggling to get comfy before finally huddling up right next to him, she leaned her head on his shoulder and sighed.

Nothing was said as Naruto leaned his head on hers. They sat there for near a minute before Kurotsuchi broke the silence. "Are we ever going to talk about what's going on between us?" Her voice was quiet, almost diminutive which was very unlike the Kurotsuchi Naruto had grown very fond of.

"If that's what you want to do then we'll have plenty of opportunities to do so in complete privacy during your stay in Konoha," Naruto replied. "Ok," she replied, she really wanted to get this talk over with but understood and agreed with his desire to do so privately.

She let the silence drag out again, "Thank you for saving me, us today." Any response from Naruto was cut off as she spoke again." When you arrived, two of them were focusing solely on me. Your summon got the one closest to me and I froze up as it tore them apart. If you hadn't killed the second one before hand I may have gone back home in a body bag."

Over the years Naruto had gotten to know the young woman next to him really well, he'd learnt her interests, her disinterests, her goals and what kind of a person she was. Which is why he was so surprised to hear her make admittance of weakness, even if that weakness was only for the briefest moment.

He took it as a deep sign of trust, truthfully he felt kind of flattered. "You don't need to thank me. To be honest, it's kind of my fault," he sheepishly said. "Huh? How is it your fault?"  
"Err, well. Since my summon can't speak it instead shares a mental connection with me so we can communicate. While it's not symbiotic to the extent that we can feel one another's pain, we can feel when the other is emotionally distressed. So Horus was only so violent today because he could feel my concern and anxiety for your wellbeing," he explained.

His admission actually made Kurotsuchi feel a little better, without another word and a small smile on her face she snuggled a little further into his shoulder. They both stayed like that until Suzushii's stint as guard forced them to part.

* * *

"I see," a livid Minato said after Naruto and Kurotsuchi had finished relaying the events of the previous few days.

"ANBU!" the blonde Hokage barked. The mask-clad Shinobi usually hidden in the corner of the room immediately appeared on one knee in front of him. "Hokage-sama?"  
"I want you to take the prisoner to Ibiki and Anko, I want her mind taken apart, if there are any more members of this little roving band of theirs I want them found. After you've done that I want you to find me three ANBU captains, squads and all."  
"Hai, Hokage-sama," the masked Shinobi said neutrally before vanishing again.

He took a moment to compose himself, the Iwa contingent was eyeing the angered Kage nervously. After all they were in the same room as the man who single-handedly put an entire an entire division of their fellow ninja to the sword.

"First of all, let me extend my apologies to you and your entourage Kurotsuchi-san," he calmly stated. "I can assure you that for the return journey you will be escorted the entire way to the Iwa-Taki border since Takigakure seems incapable of fulfilling its obligations," again the anger returning to his voice.

He sank back into his chair and stared up at the ceiling a moment. "Perhaps it would be best to end things here until tomorrow," he suggested. "That would perhaps be best Hokage-dono," Kurotsuchi replied. "Naruto-kun here will show you to your accommodation and will collect you in the morning. If you've any questions direct them to him."  
"Very well, Hokage-dono. Until tomorrow," the two nodded to each other. "Naruto-kun can you leave a clone here, there's one more matter I wish to discuss with you." Naruto saw the serious look in his father's eyes, a clone appeared in a puff of smoke next to him.

Minato closed his eyes as Naruto escorted the Iwa delegation away. When the door closed the clone turned to face him as the door shut. "What's up Tou-san?"

Taking a deep breath he revealed to Naruto what Itachi had revealed to him over a week ago. "Just over a week ago Itachi-kun came to me and revealed that the majority of the Uchiha clan are planning a coup d'état." The clone of Naruto was stunned into silence. "Itachi-kun doesn't have an exact date yet but it will happen sometime during the Iwa delegations stay. It would seem they aim to take advantage of our attention been drawn to our talks with them."  
"I-I, wow," it finally managed to say. "Be here at 10 pm in two days' time, it's then we'll put together our response."

"And what is our response to be?" Minato took a moment to reply, "Our response will be to purge the Uchiha clan of the poison that runs rampant through far too many of its members." Minato's voice was almost cold in the delivery of the words.

"Why now?"  
"Itachi believes the fights the three of you fought brought forward their plans, it's worried them into action, in particular the revelation that you possess Mokuton. I presume they've been scared into bringing forward their timeline. After all the Uchiha clan doesn't have a good history at combating Mokuton," Minato said, referencing Uchiha Madara's inability to defeat the Shodaime Senju Hashirama.

"What do I tell our guests? They're going to notice somethings up if the Uchiha clan suddenly dies out overnight." Minato thought a few moments before answering, Naruto was right, they were jumpy enough already. "Ok, here's what you'll do, wait until after the first round of talks tomorrow then you'll inform Kurotsuchi-san of what's I've just told you, you will only tell her. Then the following night you'll bring her and only her here to the meeting so she knows she isn't being screwed around with."

The clone nodded, "Well the boss is gonna get one interesting set of memories," it noted to which Minato glumly nodded himself. It gave Minato a wave before dispelling.

Minato spun in his chair and stood so he was looking out the window that overlooked the entire village, *Sigh* "How different might this village look in a weeks' time," he quietly said to himself. He must have stared out that window for nearing ten minutes before his attention was drawn back into the room as three ANBU captains appeared before him.

* * *

While the Hokage had only been staring out across the village for ten minutes, Itachi had been doing so for several hours from his spot atop the vast wall surrounding Konoha. The last fortnight had been a whirlwind of anxiety and deep thought for the clan heir. Heir to a clan that was possibly days away from putting destroyed, at least that had been his thought process, a recent revelation however offered a glimmer of light.

Not all of the clan supported the coup, there was perhaps three dozen who were against it, he and his mother included and thankfully Izumi was against it, she was one of his closest friends and the thought of having to kill her made his chest tighten uncomfortably. But he also dreaded what would happen to the likes of Izumi if the coup was successful. She was already only half Uchiha, something the clan hardliners despised, she'd likely die in 'mysterious circumstances'.

He was just glad he'd suggested she keep her awakening the Sharingan a secret. Not just because as a 'half-blood' she'd have been extremely vulnerable to an opportunist like Danzo since most of the clan wouldn't care if she vanished. But because she had two Sharingan which would have brought into question why Tri only possessed one.

Itachi sighed, he'd already considered whether to position Tri to use Kotoamatsukami on the entire clan but dismissed the idea, sure his eye had 'recharged' but it came with too many risks. Danzo would quickly be able to piece together that Tri's Sharingan was in fact the left eye of Shisui, not to mention it would take another piece of the eye's already waning vision.

' _It'd also bring my Mangekyō out into the open, I can't have Danzo discover the existence of the Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu and the third one._ ' The 'third one' as he'd dubbed it when he'd first discovered it was an ability he'd only managed to draw out once. He'd later discovered it in fact already had a name, Susano'o.

' _I'm sorry Shisui-kun, I tried to find another way but there is no alternative. Loyalty to the village will always supersede loyalty to the clan, therefore there is no other option, the Uchiha clan must be purged lest Konoha be devastated by civil w..._ '

His thoughts were interrupted as he was forced to cover his mouth with his hand as his body was wracked by a short but intense coughing fit.

* * *

End Chapter

 **Well remarkably I managed to complete this chapter. No Omake this week though but you did get the most violent death scene I've written to date.**

 **Another few milestones surpassed this past week too, 175 Favourites, 225 Followers and 30,000 views. Thank you all!**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

 **777torn777** : Thank you friend, I have planned out Itachi's development and what happens with his eyes but nothing will be happening on that front for some time, he's more considerate in the use of the Mangekyo. And yes Orochimaru exists, it's just with the amount I have going on I decided to introduce him at the same place is in canon during the Konoha Chunin Exams.

* * *

The stage is set

* * *

"You alright there?"

Naruto was jolted out of his thoughts by the question, "Hmm? You say something?"  
"Yeah, I asked if you're alright, you've been spaced out for a little while now."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows as he pondered her question, he was finding it difficult to think straight following the flow of memories provided by his clone. He was struggling to fully come to terms with what he'd been told by his father. "You're doing it again," Kurotsuchi muttered as she plopped down next to him on the Futon in her hotel room.

"Sorry, it's just.."  
"Something serious?"  
"Hai," he replied. "Do you want to talk about it?" Naruto shook his head, "No, I've been forbidden from doing so. Or at least I have for now, I'll be able to tell you soon." That placated her interest for the moment.

Despite her upbringing which taught her to simply absorb any and all information she could like a sponge would absorb water she didn't want to? _'Why don't I want to? Even if he's forbidden from telling me I could probably still glean some details from him. Is it because I don't want to abuse his trust? Or because I value what I have with him? Whatever "It" is._ '

Try as she might she couldn't deny that she greatly enjoyed the friendship she'd built with the blonde sat next to her. In him she had a friend who treated her as he would anybody else. No special treatment, in Iwagakure she was always the Tsuchikage's granddaughter first and Kurotsuchi a distant second. Perhaps it was because he understood, he'd probably encountered similar being the son of the Hokage and all.

"You're doing it now," Naruto said with a slight smirk. "So I am," she replied completely unfazed. She stood again and looked up at the clock and she stretched her arms above her head. "Well it's not exactly late but I want a shower before bed so you need to clear off." Naruto snorted at her remarks. "Unless of course, you're joining me?" she teased, this time Naruto chuckled.

"While I'm not usually one for turning down the opportunity to share a shower with a pretty lady, but I don't think your fellow Iwa Shinobi just down the hall would appreciate it very much."

Kurotsuchi let out an exacerbated sigh, "Well I suppose that's true," she replied as Naruto headed for the window. She turned as he unlocked the hinge and pushed it open wide enough to jump out. "It's good to see you again… Naruto-kun," she quietly said. He turned his head to face her and gave her a soft smile, "You too, Kuro-chan. I'll be in the hotel lobby by 8 am," he quietly replied before leaping out the window.

He landed softly on the ground following the two-story drop, he looked up to see a slender arm pull the window shut. It was only then Naruto remembered their agreement to properly talk about what exactly their 'relationship' was. He shrugged his shoulders, _'We'll have plenty of opportunities to talk it out._ '

Despite his lax attitude about it Naruto spent the entire journey home mulling over what exactly he might say to her.

* * *

Kushina watched on with a smile on her face as three of her children went about their early evening, Tri and Rezano were playing rock, paper, scissors while Minusha worked on deciphering a seal array Tri had given her.

The youngest member of the household had her head tilted slightly to the side, the concentration clear on her face as she disassembled the three-part seal array in front of her. Kushina could see that she'd cracked the first two thirds and was almost finished with the final part. Her and Tri had put their heads together and had come up with something that would turn seal deciphering into something better resembling a game.

For every seal she successfully completed she earned points based on its difficulty. When she had enough points she could redeem them for a lesson in something much more 'interesting' from either herself or Tri. It made for a very motivated Minusha, she'd cracked over a dozen seals in the past week and Kushina was beginning to wonder whether to move her up to level 2 seals already.

It was then that her sole daughter happily cheered, "Finished!" she shouted. Tri turned to face her, "What is the seal?" he asked her. She held the design up in front of her in one hand and pointed at each element with her other.

"The entire design is an incomplete trigger detection seal, the first section checks whether someone had crossed the seal, the second section checks for abnormal chakra levels and the third section is supposed to be a warning mechanism but it's incomplete so it won't work," she confidently relayed.

Kushina silently chuckled as Tri kept Minusha in suspense by not responding before he finally gave her a thumbs-up. There was another loud cheer as Minusha threw her arms around her adoptive brother's neck and bowled them both over. Thanks to the commotion only Kushina heard the front door open. She quietly slid out of her chair and made her way out into the hallway.

The elder of her two blonde sons was half way through removing his sandals when Kushina jumped on his back, thankfully his blades were already out of the holsters on his back. Despite being down on one knee he had no trouble lifting her as he stood, both swords in hand. "Home safe and sound," Kushina muttered. "Yep, all done," Naruto replied. "Good, now carry me back to the front room."  
"You could just walk you know, it's what? All of ten feet."  
"I could, but I don't wanna." Naruto sweat dropped, "Maa, you're so lazy sometimes Kaa-chan," he muttered to which she simply replied, "I know," as she rested her chin on his shoulder.

Sighing in resignation he carried her through to the front room where as soon he walked through the doorway he found the other female member of the family jumping at him. Using his honed skills he looked around, spotted Tri off to the side and threw both his swords at him allowing him to catch Minusha as Tri effortlessly plucked Kagizume and Kuchibashi out of the air.

"Nii-chan!" a delighted Minusha screamed as she managed to latch onto him. Rezano struggled to suppress the laughter bubbling away at the back of his throat as Naruto sighed, his mother and sister clinging to him like a tree branch. As quietly as he possibly could he slowly shuffled towards the door leading from the kitchen out into their back garden. "Nii-san, where are you going?" Rezano called after him, he didn't receive an answer.

Rezano and Tri looked at one another and shrugged before following Naruto outside. It was a cool night with no breeze as Naruto silently made his way towards the pond. Again Rezano and Tri looked at one another, both nodding with wide grins and silent understanding as Tri retrieved a small log and gently placed it on the grass. Stepping out onto the water he walked out to the middle of the water, "Nii-chan! What are you doing?" an alarmed Minusha exclaimed as Naruto switched places with the log.

* **Splash** *

Neither Minusha or Kushina stood much chance of reacting in time as gravity took effect. The twin squeals echoed around the nearby houses but were cut off as both plunged beneath the water's surface.

They both resurfaced to be greeted by raucous laughter. "NII-CHAN!" Minusha screamed as she scurried out of the water as fast as possible. Meanwhile Kushina was evilly glaring at Naruto with narrowed eyes. Naruto was too busy laughing to notice Tri pull Rezano and himself to the side as a jet of water struck Naruto dead in the chest.

He was thrown back into the fence, pinned down by the ceaseless stream of water as he desperately tried to get his hands in front of his face. He was left spluttering and coughing as the water stream finally ceased to reveal a rather irritated and wet through Kushina. "Ha. Ha. Ha," she sarcastically said.

A muffled snicker snapped her head to the side showed Rezano with his hands over his mouth desperately trying to stifle his laughs. Again Kushina's eyes narrowed, "You're on your own now Otouto," Tri said before getting well clear of Kushina's firing line. It was barely a second before Rezano also found himself pinned to a fence panel.

"Whatever happened to never abandoning your teammates?" Rezano bitterly asked Tri. The red/ black haired teen shrugged his shoulders, "Don't worry about it Otouto, you aren't a Shinobi y…" He was cut off as Minusha who'd snuck up behind him dumped a bucket full of water all over him.

"Thanks for that, Minusha-chan," he neutrally said, his tone of voice spread an eerie awkwardness across the family, which he also broke when he burst out laughing. He was soon joined by everyone else.

They all continued laughing together until a voice stopped them. "Hey, I'm home… Why are you all outside? Why are you all wet?" Everyone's head slowly turned to face a rather confused Minato stood in the kitchen doorway. The Yondaime Hokage, one of the most feared Shinobi in the world took a nervous step back as his entire family eyed him menacingly.

* * *

Naruto was bored, incredibly bored, despite being the liaison for their Iwa guests it didn't mean he was privy to what the talks actually entailed. It meant there were hours and hours of sitting around doing nothing and this was only the first day. ' _How in the world do the ANBU who watch over Tou-san all day deal with the boredom?_ '

It was approaching early evening and sitting in the lobby of the Hokage tower was not quite how he envisioned spending his day. Hell gate duty with Izumo and Kotetsu would be more preferable than this.

The monotony was finally broken as the door to Tou-san's office opened, the Yondaime Hokage, Sandaime Hokage and four of the Iwa Shinobi exited, Kurotsuchi among them. Most of them stretched limbs stiffened by hours of minimal movement.

"Ah, there you are valet," Kurotsuchi said teasingly as Naruto dragged himself to his feet, the pink-eyed Jōnin twisting and rolling her neck garnering a series of satisfying sounds clicks and cracks. She turned to her three fellow Shinobi, "You three do what you wish I'm gonna have this one show me somewhere that does good food," she indicated Naruto by hiking a thumb over her shoulder, "Because I am starving."

The three of them eyed Naruto suspiciously, "Are you sure that is wise Kurotsuchi-sama? Tsuchikage-sama would disappro…"  
"My grandfather isn't here. Do you not think that if Konoha wanted to turn me into a corpse they'd have done so in Takigakure?" she snapped. There was no return comment forthcoming so she spun on the heel of her feet and walked off, Naruto following shortly behind.

"So where's good to eat around town?" she asked over her shoulder as she walked out onto the street. "Depends what you're craving," Naruto answered as he hurriedly caught up with her. "Hmm," she hummed while tapping her lips with a finger. "Dango? Barbecue? Sushi? … Ramen?" She turned her gaze on him following his final suggestion, it was the almost hopeful way he'd said it.

' _Of course, how could I forget about his Ramen addiction,_ ' she thought to herself. Turning her eyes back to in front of her she pondered the others he'd suggested. _'Dango? Nah, too sweet for my taste._ '

A purple haired Kunoichi's ears bristled, she quickly looked up and around her looking for anyone daring to insult her beloved Dango in her presence. Seeing no one suspicious nearby she went back to shovelling the sweet dumplings into her mouth.

' _Barbecue? Nah, it takes too long._ '

Elsewhere in Konoha a young clan heir suddenly sat up straight, his pack of potato chips almost flying everywhere. "What's gotten into you?" a slender boy with a head of black hair asked as his friend distracted him from his cloud watching.

' _Sushi? Hmm, actually that does sound good. It's not often we get properly fresh fish back home._ '

"Alright I've made my decision, it will be Sushi!" she declared. The blonde next to her nodding while silently cursing her choice at the back of his mind. "Do you want to go to a fancier place or somewhere quick?" he next asked her. Again she pondered a few moments, ' _With time tends to come quality, a mix of both? Yeah,_ ' she decided. "Bit of both if you can manage," she replied. "Sure," Naruto said.

* * *

Naruto watched on somewhat in awe. He'd taken Kurotsuchi to a Sushi restaurant like she'd requested where she'd almost immediately ordered a huge platter for herself. It had arrived at the table and it seemed like the waitress who'd brought it out had barely turned around to leave before it was all gone.

So she ordered a second platter, that didn't last long either, now Kurotsuchi was half-way through her third platter. ' _Is this what it's like watching me and the family eat Ramen?_ ' he wondered as she continued devouring all that was in front of her. _'Being honest, that's kinda hot.._ ' His thought process ground to a halt, ' _Where the hell did that come from_?' he wondered as the final piece of the third platter vanished.

"I know you said you were hungry but…" Naruto trailed off as she began gulping down a large glass of water. "Shush you," she said placing the glass back down before letting out a hum of contentment before settling back in her chair.

"Kami, I'm glad to be out of that office. I'm surprised Hokage-dono is happy with an office that small."  
"The Tsuchikage's office is bigger I take it?"  
"Much bigger, you'd have to combine the interior space of the Hokage tower lobby and the office and it would probably still be smaller."  
"It was probably fit for purpose when it was built back in the days of the Shodaime and Nidaime but it's in a hard to develop part of Konoha so expansion and renovation is difficult." Naruto suggested. "You may be onto something there," she said in agreement.

"So, these rumours about long lost Kekkai Genkai?" she said changing the subject.

The sudden shift in subject has slightly caught him off-guard but everyone in the village already knew about it so he was hardly about to reveal classified intel. "Yes, yes, alright. I admit it, you aren't the only one at this table who possesses a Kekkai Genkai. Turns out I have Mokuton."

"So the rumours were true then. Who'd of thought it eh Naruto, the son of the Yondaime with the same ability as the legendary Shodaime. Do you actually bare any relation to the Shodaime?"  
"Sort of yes, the Shodaime's wife was Uzumaki Mito which provides a clan tie, it also means me and Tsunade-sama are distant relatives but it a marriage based relation only. There are no blood ties that explain why I'm capable of using Mokuton though."

"What about your brother?" she asked referring to Tri, she'd long since figured out he was adopted, given the difference in eye and hair colours, not to mention the lack of Namikaze in his family name. "We don't know, nobody knows who his parents are. We only know that he has Uzumaki and Uchiha ancestry."

' _Uchiha ancestry? That would explain the talk of a Sharingan._ ' Then she had a thought, "Wait so are all your former and present Kage related to one another in some way, all the Tsuchikage's except for Nidaime-sama Mū are related. Although there are only three of them."

Naruto thought a moment, "Only half properly are for us. The Shodaime and Nidaime were brothers, both of the Senju clan. The Sandaime is from the Sarutobi clan and bears no relation that I'm aware of, although I do know the Sandaime was the student of the Nidaime so there is a connection of sorts. And while Tou-san is technically related to the Senju, it's only by his marriage to Kaa-chan, making the link tenuous at best."

"You know it still weirds me out to be in the same room as the Yellow Flash," Kurotsuchi admitted. "Growing up we were taught to fear the Hiraishin above anything else, he's still the only Shinobi we've ever had a universal flee on sight order for."  
"And yet here you are, holding diplomatic discussions with that same man," Naruto provided. "The Hiraishin is almost trivial to me, Tou-san never walks home he just Hiraishins into the downstairs hall."

It took a moment for Kurotsuchi to process that but when she had she burst out laughing. "Tou-san is too laid back for his own good. Not that assertiveness is lacking in the family, Kaa-chan more than makes up for it but Tou-san does have his moments when his temper and stern side emerges."  
"Oh?" an interested Kurotsuchi uttered. Naruto relayed the events of Tri's fight against Jiraiya, his subsequent suspension and Minato's anger, he neglected to mention Tri's arm injury.

The topics for conversation ended there and a hush settled over the two of them broken only by the waitress handing them the bill and before long they were again walking through the dirt streets of Konoha.

Naruto was anxious about revealing recent events regarding the Uchiha clan to Kurotsuchi but he had said he'd tell her and he intended to keep his word. "Are you alright to go somewhere a bit more private?" he asked her, she gave him a weird look that quickly changed as she understood, she gave him a quick nod.

"Ok, but first we need to ditch our uninvited guests," he said under his breath. His words had Kurotsuchi on guard instantly. "Don't react," Naruto warned, "I don't want to tip them off."  
"Who are they?"  
"I'll explain when we've lost them, the two matters are related. We're going to take the left turn up ahead so we break line of sight. Then I'm going to create two shadow clones and have one Henge into you, they'll take our place while we Shunshin away." Kurotsuchi didn't argue with him, she was too on edge. Despite how cryptic Naruto had been, she could sense there was something going on under the surface in Konoha.

They took the left turn which took them down a narrow side-street devoid of any shop fronts or people for that matter. For Kurotsuchi the switch happened almost quicker than she could process. She felt a hand on her shoulder and then she wasn't in the street anymore.

It took her a few moments to recognise she was in a darkened alcove atop a two-storey building, the clones of her and Naruto were below them some 20ft away. They were both knelt in absolute silence, Naruto's reassuring hand still rested on her shoulder. It seemed to be helping as she felt more at ease thanks to the physical contact.

It took nearly a minute before their stalkers appeared, there were two of them, they were keeping their distance. Naruto's grip on her shoulder tightened ever so slightly as they watched them follow the clones. They bided their time, neither making a sound until they were well in the clear. "Come on, let's move," Naruto whispered to her.

* * *

"Alright, I'll save my words and cut straight to the chase. We were being followed, or more specifically I was being followed by two members of the Uchiha clan." She already had questions but she kept quiet for now and allowed him to continue speaking. "At some point during your stay here in Konoha a large portion of the Uchiha clan intends to launch a Coup to overthrow the current administration and likely intend to install themselves as the new rulers."

"…"

Kurotsuchi was stunned into silence, the questions she's had in her mind evaporated away.

"Yo-you're taking the piss, right?" she finally asked, Naruto slowly shook his head. The serious look on his face was doing a good job of convincing her of his sincerity. "I-I don't know what to say."  
"You don't need to say a word, you and your entourages personal safety will be seen to. Tomorrow night we're holding a meeting with senior village figures to decide our response, Hokage-sama has invited you to attend."  
"Why?" she asked in a surprised voice. "Hokage-sama felt it prudent to keep you in the loop. If this escalates then you need to be informed so we can better safeguard you."

"Is this going to escalate?"  
"We do not intend to allow it do so."  
"So you know what you're going to do already?"  
"The basis, then again what do you do if you have gangrene in one of your limbs?"  
"You.. remove the limb," she replied, understanding his meaning. "Exactly."

* * *

 **The Following Night**

Itachi was nervous, tonight would be the night that decided the fate of the majority of his clan, including members of his immediate family. He was leant up against the wall in the Hokage's office, it was beginning to fill up now.

Next to him was Tri with Naruto and Kurotsuchi beyond him. Against the opposite wall were Tsunade, Hiruzen and Kakashi. The door opened again and Minato entered, followed by the three members of the Konoha Council, Koharu, Homura and Danzō. Itachi could hear the very low growl from next to him.

"Are we all here? Kushina-chan's staying at home so she won't be attending and Jiraiya's still away from the village," Minato said. "Hokage-sama, I question why the Iwa representative needs to be present. This is a matter that does not concern her."  
"Kurotsuchi-san is here at Hokage-sama's request," Tri poisonously spat. Danzō glared at him but Minato stepped in to settle the ruffled feathers, "She is here at my request, while they are here the Iwa delegation's well-being are my and this villages concern." The look on the elder's bandage-clad face returned to neutral, "Very well then."

"We are all here, Minato-kun," Hiruzen said answering his earlier question. "Alright then, everyone grab on to one another." The only one loyal to another village had a confused look on her face as everyone began placing hands on one another's shoulders or arms. She noticed that they all linked back in one way or another to Minato.

It was only at the last moment that Naruto saw Kurotsuchi wasn't attached to anyone, he quickly took her hand in his as they all vanished in a flash of yellow.

They reappeared in a large square room with coarse stone walls devoid of decoration, the floor was stone tile and there didn't seem to be a single door to allow entrance or exit. The room was lit by multiple flame torches and a three-tier candle chandelier. The centre of the room was occupied by a large circular wooden table with ten chairs.

"You alright?" Naruto asked a shaken-looking Kurotsuchi. "Sorry about that, Kurotsuchi-san," Minato said sheepishly, "I should have warned you we'd be travelling by Hiraishin."  
"Thank you Hokage-dono, I'll admit it caught me completely by surprise, it's kind of surreal to be honest," she replied.

All moved to take a chair except Naruto who offered to let Kurotsuchi take the final one, she gave him a warm smile as he moved to stand behind her. With everyone at the table Minato spoke, "Let's not waste any time. Itachi, are there any new developments?"  
"Nothing that would raise more alarms than it already has, equipment continues to be stockpiled, kunai, shuriken etc."

"Have you learnt anymore in regards to a date they intend to strike?" Itachi frustratingly shook his head, "Unfortunately no, Hokage-sama. My father is being very tight-lipped about actual dates. I am unsure if it's because he doesn't trust me or because even he doesn't even know yet. But I did manage to overhear one thing which will be cause for concern."

"And what might that be Itachi-kun?" Hiruzen asked, his trademark pipe in hand. "My father and the clan elders seem to know who the Kyūbi Jinchuriki is."  
"Where did you come by this?" asked an alarmed Koharu, "The identity of the Kyūbi Jinchuriki is a secret known to less than a dozen people and most of them are in this room."

"I managed to eavesdrop on a discussion between my father and several of the clan elders where they implied they knew the identity and were intending to release it. Either my father is an utter fool or he genuinely believes his visual prowess is strong enough to control it as he intends to try."

"Control a Bijū?" a sceptical Kurotsuchi said. "Such tales are not without precedence Kurotsuchi-san," Hiruzen said, "While we are unsure whether it is in fact true it is said Uchiha Madara possessed Sharingan powerful enough to control the Kyūbi." Only he, Minato and Kushina knew that the Kyūbi was being manipulated the night Rezano was born and the three of them intended to keep it that way.

"Itachi, do you actually believe your father has the ability to pull off such a feat?" Tsunade asked him. "No Tsunade-sama, I do not. While my father may have been in the running for the position of Yondaime Hokage I've never him display anything suggesting him worthy of the role much less have eyes strong enough to control a demon."

"Which brings us to why we are here, our response," Hiruzen said. "We must strike first, we cannot allow them to make the first move," Danzo declared as he brought his hand down on the table with a slam. "Well, well Danzō, we find ourselves in agreement for perhaps the one and only time," Tri retorted. "There is no going back for them Hokage-sama," Itachi said, "But please, not all are guilty, there are those who have nothing to do with the coup and there are those who are simply too young."  
"How many fall into this category, Itachi?"  
"Perhaps two, three dozen Hokage-sama."  
"Hokage-sama, this would represent an unnecessary risk," Danzō interjected. "No, I think not Danzō," Minato said, "The next in line of inheritance is Itachi himself. As the arguably strongest member of the clan I believe he would maintain the loyalty of those who remain."

"If I may, Hokage-sama. While I might be the appointed heir to the Uchiha clan I would prefer my mother become clan matriarch." His comments drew several looks of surprise from around the table. "Would the Uchiha clan even accept a woman as clan head?" Koharu said. "They wouldn't have much choice in the matter, " Homura replied, "With Itachi being as young as he is they would likely accept it willingly if he remained clan heir to take over when he has reached a more mature age."

"Wise words Homura-kun," I agree. The clan hardliners by this point are gone while more open-minded individuals remain. And given the Senju and Inuzuka clans both have female leaders it's hardly setting a precedent. But Itachi-kun, your mother has been ill recently, has a diagnosis yet been made?"  
"Hai, Hiruzen-sama. She's pregnant." The entire room hushed immediately, no one was really sure what to say. Minato eventually dragged the discussion back.

"Alright, we're veering slightly off-topic."  
"Hokage-sama, I request that ANBU Team Ro be given this assignment." Itachi's suddenly said, his request stunned Minato, "Itachi.. That's your own ANBU squad."  
"I know Hokage-sama, but it's my clan who've lost their way and forgotten that loyalty to the village comes first. Therefore I wish to be the one to exact their punishment." Itachi's voice which normally carried little emotion sounded even more neutral than usual. Minato stared down the Uchiha prodigy and Itachi did not waver at all.

Minato relented, "Very well Itachi, Team Ro will lead the mission to purge the Uchiha clan but you won't be doing this alone. Kakashi, I want you and Yamato to put together your own four-man squads, ANBU personnel only. I want this infection cut out in one go." The Yondaime turned towards his two present sons. "Now as Itachi's former teammates I have no doubt that'd you'd agree to help in an instant but neither of you will do so."

Both looked unhappy at Minato's declaration but kept quiet. "Naruto-kun, your duty is to ensure the safety of the woman in front of you and her entourage. While you Tri-kun are still suspended." Naruto just nodded while Tri momentarily clenched his fist tightly before relenting with a nod of his own.

Tri could see the smugly satisfied look in Danzō's eye before he had an idea to wipe it off his face. "I understand Hokage-sama but I recommend that something is done to ensure all Sharingan are accounted for by purges end. The Sharingan is too powerful a Dojutsu to be allowed to reach the black market or other hidden villages."

That look in Danzō's eye was soon replaced by annoyance as Minato immediately agreed. "Yes the eyes are too be destroyed immediately or the corpse sealed into an encrypted storage scroll. Such scrolls will be provided to the three ANBU teams if we have any or they can be made. I assume you are able to create them Tri-kun?"  
"Hai," he immediately replied.

"How complex are these scrolls?" Homura asked. "Relatively so elder, why?" Tri inquired. "I was thinking in regard to how long they would take to manufacture."  
"Not very long, I estimate half an hour to create one scroll but I can just use Kage Bunshin to make dozens at a time," he reassured him. "Then can I requisition you to make 60 scrolls, 20 for each team."  
"Of course, Hokage-sama. They'll be done by midday tomorrow."

"Hiruzen-sama, are you and the other elders ok to pen the follow-up announcement to the village. We are going to have to explain to them exactly what has happened." Hiruzen nodded, as did Homura and Koharu.

"What about a date? When is this going to take place?" Tsunade asked the table. Everyone was quiet as they all individually mulled over when exactly the best opportunity would be. It was a minute or two before someone spoke, they were followed by another as they kept building on one another's ideas.

"It needs to be soon, the longer we wait the more we risk them attacking first." That was the general consensus they all agreed on but whether to strike tomorrow night or the night after divided opinions. "Hokage-sama," Tri said cutting through the multiple conversations that had broken out and seeing he had Minato's attention he continued. "Kaa-chan's next attempt to establish the Uzumaki's as a clan is the day after tomorrow, is it not?"  
"It is," an interested Minato replied. "It is a full council meeting, all clan heads are required to attend, are they not?"  
"They are."  
"Well if that's the case then Fugaku-san will be present and while he is you can begin making your final preparations in the background. You can begin extracting those Uchiha who play no part and securing them in safe locations throughout the day and when night falls, strike."

"How can you be so sure Fugaku will actually attend the council meeting?" Tsunade asked, it was Itachi who replied. "Arrogance, Tsunade-sama. It's no secret that my father has an extreme dislike for Kushina-sama and will not miss the opportunity to quash her dreams of making the Uzumaki name into a clan one more time."  
"It's true, he's not going to let the chance to lord it over Kushina-sama one last time," Kakashi admitted. "Does anyone have any reservations what so ever about following through with this plan?"

No one responded.

"Very well, then the decision is made. Tri I expect those scrolls by midday tomorrow. Kakashi I want your squad chosen by the same time, I'll brief Yamato tomorrow morning. Naruto, on the day we strike, in the afternoon you and a squad of your choice will extract and ensure the safety of our Iwagakure guests. Throughout the day ANBU will also extract those Uchiha who can be saved, Itachi I will need a detailed list of them."

"Hiruzen-sama, Koharu-san, Homura-san, I want that statement penned and finalised by midday of the day after tomorrow. Tsunade, I want you to prep a medical facility that you can keep private in case of serious injury to any of the twelve ANBU."  
"At 10 pm in two days' time, the three ANBU squads will report to me in my office for a final debriefing. They will have until sunrise to complete their assigned task."

And that was it, the meeting ended with everyone receiving their orders from their leader. After Hiraishining everyone back to the Hokage's office, people began to disperse. Danzō was gone before anyone even noticed

Minato joined a small conversation between Naruto, Kurotsuchi and Tri. It was only brief as Naruto and his charge soon left leaving Minato and his adopted son as the only ones left in the room. They both walked over to the window and looked out over the village.

"While I know you are more than capable of assisting Itachi in the purge itself I want you with the family, do you understand?"  
"Hai, Hokage-sama, you want me to watch over the Kyūbi Jinchuriki."  
"Correct, I'll inform Kushina-chan as well."  
"I will admit Tou-san, I'm frustrated I'm not going to be there with Itachi-kun. B-but it's my own fault," he said with a sigh.

Both were silent for a few moments, "Tri-kun, why did you ask to be present at the forthcoming Council meeting?" The teenager next to him's frown was replaced by a grin, "What you mean besides being there to support Kaa-chan?"  
"Yes."  
"Because I have the means to metaphorically slap the smug look of off Fugaku's face?"

"How?" asked an intrigued Minato. Tri held out his right hand and Minato watched as an object appeared in his hand. "Where did you get that?" Minato couldn't believe what he was looking at, something long thought lost, that he'd only . "Exactly where you'd have expected it to be."  
"By why haven't you already given it to her?"  
"Because I want you to be the one to give it to her. As for when, you'll know when it's the right time," he said cryptically.

Minato was cryptic in return, "That idea you and Itachi brought to me. I'm activating it, you will report to me and me alone on the matter."  
"I understand."

* * *

He threw himself down in his chair, and threw his cane onto his desk as two figures appeared in front of him on one knee. Neither said a word and instead waited.

Shimura Danzō put his head in his hand, he was frustrated. Frustrated at how quickly any serious chance to retrieve any Sharingan was snuffed out. He had been biding his time for years now, he had already amassed several of the red coloured eyes but still sought the collection of more.

He turned his gaze upon his two subordinates, on his left was Yamanaka Fū. A promising member of the Yamanaka clan from a young age, he could recall how gutted Yamanaka Inoichi was when he'd managed to get him into Root.

And on the right was Aburame Torune, a member of the Aburame clan who's lack of decisive control over the insects residing in his body meant he was unable to attend the Academy. Danzō was only too happy to take him in and see to his training.

And over the years both had become valuable assets to him, they were his right-hand men so to speak. "The plan to deal with the Uchiha clan has been set in motion, the plan isn't exactly what I'd like it to be but in two nights time they're to be slaughtered. It means we won't be able to secure any Sharingan. So we'll just have to make do with what's left." He informed them both, allowing himself the briefest of grins.

"Then what are your orders to be Danzō-sama?" Fū asked. "If we can't secure any Sharingan then we'll make a move on securing another military tool. Fū, on the night of the massacre you will use a combination of your clan's techniques and my cursed seal to bring the Kyūbi Jinchuriki under my control."

* * *

End Chapter


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

* * *

 **Diehard Gamer** : It's much easier to cheat when you can hide your potentially hand-seal weaving hands behind a cloak.

* * *

A Clan Reborn

Kushina had all she needed in her arms, it was time once again to try and re-establish the Uzumaki clan. At the back of her mind she wasn't very confident, today represented just another attempt in a long line of attempts and her apprehension gnawed away at her confidence.

Nevertheless she took a deep breath and steeled herself, pushing open the door to the council chambers. As was required for such things, the entire council was present, all the clan leaders, the elders and civilian council member and the Hokage were sat at a long rectangular table.

In her favour lay Minato, Hiruzen, one, maybe two of the civilians and the Yamanaka, Akimichi and Inuzuka clans. Arrayed against her were the three remaining Elders Danzō, Homura and Koharu' Along with them was the Hyūga and Uchiha clans and the rest of the civilians members.

The Nara clan had been neutral in the affair and had abstained from every vote so far.

While Kushina had always had always enjoyed Minato's unwavering support throughout the entire process he wasn't alone today. Just as he said he would, Tri too was present, leaning against a wall he gave her a wink that at the very least put a smile back on her face.

"We are now all present, Hokage-sama unless there is anything someone wishes to raise beforehand?" Koharu put to the table. "If I may," one of the civilian members interjected, "Hokage-sama, I'm curious as to why your son is here?" he asked. All turned to face the teenager, for some of the other civilian members it was the first time they'd noticed he was actually in the room, their lack of Shinobi trained spacial awareness very apparent.

"Tri-kun is here at his own wish," Minato replied. "Despite not being a member of this council?" Hiashi, head of the Hyūga clan inquired, a comment that didn't fail to widen the smug grin on Fugaku's face. "His presence is ultimately at my discretion," Minato replied, "Furthermore as a member of the Shugonin Jūnishi he is trusted to act as the eyes and ears of the Daimyō."

"I think you'll find he is a former member," Fugaku said. "Irrelevant," Minato hotly shot back, "The sash around his waist is ever present as is the political weight that it carries. Now this matter is over. Kushina-chan, when you are ready."

Fugaku struggled to suppress the scowl etched across his face as Kushina began. The Uchiha clan leader had no idea that with this meetings start ANBU were beginning the extraction of clan members that were present on Itachi's list.

Despite having already done this numerous times Kushina still managed to talk for nearly an hour. The listeners were silent as they were expected to be while Kushina pressed her case, afterwards however was when the interrupting started.

"Kushina, despite all that you've said, it is no different from the last time." Many took note of the lack of Honorific from Fugaku, Minato in particular looking decidedly unimpressed. "Your arguments are simply rehashes of previous ones and you have brought nothing new to the table," he continued, caring not in the slightest if he insulted her or not.

"While I don't approve of the utter lack of Honorifics, Fugaku-san is still correct Kushina-san," Shikaku added, Fugaku snorted. Many other members of the council said similar.

"Kushina-san if you only had in your possession one of the great artefacts from Uzushiogakure then your request would be little more than a formality. You are of the right lineage and have heirs to your name, you were born in Uzushiogakure. But you lack something that would make any other surviving Uzumaki's acknowledge you without question as clan leader."

Kushina's head despondently dropped so she missed her husband and son share a look. "I have to agree," Minato chimed in as he stood, Kushina's head shot back up, the confusion on her face, her eyes brimmed with questions as she watched him walk around the table eventually stopping in front of her. He gave her a wink as Tri began talking, drawing everyone's attention to him and away from Konoha's premier couple.

"By the definitions listed in Konoha's rules for the establishment of clans there are three such relics that would fit the bill. The first is the **Youhitsu no Fūin** (Brush of Seals), an ink brush said to have been used by the very first Uzumaki's to draw seals of immense complexity that have long since forgotten. To use the Youhitsu no Fūin was to be acknowledged as a Fūinjutsu master the likes of which is unheard of today. Sadly the brush is believed destroyed around the time of the Shodaime."

"The second is the **Shoseki no Moyou** (Book of Designs), an encrypted book filled to the brim with extremely advanced seal designs, many of which not even the seal masters of today could fully utilise. The Shoseki no Moyou is known to have been destroyed, it was taken by Kumogakure when Uzushiogakure fell. So feared were the seal designs in this book that it was publically burnt."

"The third…"

"The third," Minato interrupted, "Is right here." Everyone's attention was drawn back to the Yondaime who held in his hands an item draped in a single piece of purple velvet, the red swirl of the Uzumaki clan in the centre. Whatever was under the velvet was over 20 inches in length and narrow in width.

"Uzumaki Kushina, I present you with this," Minato said to her, his voice carrying a formal but joyful tone. Kushina reached a hand out and slowly gripped the velvet and lifted. The first two artefacts Tri had described were familiar to her and she had a sneaking suspicion she knew what the one in Minato's hands was.

Lifting away the velvet cloth confirmed her suspicions. She couldn't help herself as her emotions caught up with her, she covered her mouth and gasped, her eyes glistening as the tears started to gather. Not even Hiruzen, the proclaimed professor recognised the Katana held in Minato's hands.

The scabbard was a dark lacquered wood but with beautifully carved depictions and inlaid with golden Uzumaki swirls. The Sa-Me (Stingray Skin) was Uzumaki red which was overlaid with a light purple Ito (Cloth Binding).

Kushina lifted the sword out of Minato's hands, she wrapped her fingers around the hilt which briefly glowed. Any lingering doubt at the back of her mind were immediately dispelled as the sword accepted her. Many of the onlookers either looked on or at one another in confusion.

"The sword has a blood seal woven into the hilt, it can only be wielded by one of Uzumaki descent," Tri explained to them as Kushina tearfully drew the blade from its scabbard, her ears filled with the satisfying soundtrack of grinding steel. The blade itself was two-tone, the sharpened outer edge was steel silver-grey, the rest was stained a deep yet light in tone purple with the occasional black line running horizontally across it.

At the base of the blade was a Kanji inscription.

" **Shio Saiha** ," Kushina managed to say as she read the inscription, drinking in every detail of the weapon in her hands. "Ah," Hiruzen said in recollection as the name triggered his memory, "Tide Breaker," he said. "Tide Breaker, Sandaime-sama?" one of the civilian council members asked.

Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, Tide Breaker is a sword of legend dating back to the time of the Clan wars, perhaps even earlier. The legend says that Tide Breaker was used to cut a path through the many whirlpools surrounding what we know as Uzu no Kuni (Land of Whirlpools) allowing the Uzumaki clan to safely settle there. Furthermore it was a sword used to lead the Uzumaki's in times of war, carried by commanders and clan leaders thus earning it its second name, **Rīdā Tsurugi** (Leader's Blade)."

"But where had it been all these years, it's been over twenty years since Uzushiogakure fell, taken surely as a spoil of war."

"It actually never left councillor," Tri revealed, "I found it almost by accident, stored in a secret vault pretty far underground in the ruins of Uzushiogakure." Kushina slid the blade back into its scabbard and hugged it close to her.

"Well then, shall we vote?" Minato inquired of the council as he sought to take advantage of the relative awe permeating the room, most seemed happy to do so and Minato didn't want to allow the definite NO votes time to recover.

The civilian members voted first, four of the six voted in favour of yes. Next came the elders, all but Danzō voted yes. Then finally came the clans, the Nara no longer abstained and voted yes, they were joined by the Hyūga clan in addition to the previous YES votes, the Uchiha vote was still for no.

The result was pretty categorical, it meant Kushina's dream of an Uzumaki clan in Konoha was now moments from becoming a reality. "We have now all voted, and the vote in overwhelmingly in favour of yes. Therefore from this day the Uzumaki name will now be recognised as a fully-fledged clan of Konohagakure, so say I Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage and head of the Namikaze clan," he proudly proclaimed.

The meeting was over and Fugaku couldn't have left any quicker if he'd tried, he'd slammed the door open and stormed off into the early afternoon. Everyone else at least had the decency to congratulate her, even Danzō managed it, even if it was through gritted teeth.

"Congratulations Kaa-chan, you finally did I… Gurrkh," He was cut off as he found himself encased in a hug strong enough to compress his chest. "Thank you," she said as her grip tightened further. "Uhh, Kimi, Tri-kun's face is starting to turn purple," Minato noted as the lack of oxygen began to take effect. She suddenly released him as his words were processed in her mind.

Tri took in large lungful's of air in a playfully exuberant manner after having it all squeezed out of him, "Your welcome Kaa-chan," he was finally able to say at which point Kushina fixed him with a stare, "How long have you had this?" she sternly asked lifting Shio Saiha up. "Since I returned, Kaa-chan. I've spent the last few weeks restoring it because it still had mud, dirt, a little rust and dried blood all over it."

"Why did you wait to give it to me and why through Minato-kun?"

"I had originally intended it for your birthday but this felt more appropriate. Additionally I as an Uzumaki just officially acknowledged you as my clan leader by not keeping the sword for myself. As for why Tou-san physically gave it to you, I simply wanted him to be the one who did. He's been the one by your side supporting you for years, I wanting him to be the one to give you the means to finally achieve clan hood."

His words had the unintended side-effect of turning the waterworks back on as Kushina gave him another hug, although remembering not to crush him this time. A few errant tears slipped down her cheeks. "Thank you," she repeated before kissing him on the forehead. He gave her a smile before turning to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" she asked wiping away the last few tears. "I've some errands to run around town Kaa-chan then I've another chakra network therapy session afterwards."

"Good," Kushina said under her breath, making absolutely sure Tri wouldn't hear her. She sealed the sword away into a storage seal on her wrist before turning to face Minato. She stared him straight in the eyes and he stared back.

"As for you, I think you deserve a reward," she said naughtily before leaning in closer to whisper in his ear. Minato recognised that voice, "You have ten seconds to get me to our bedroom or I'm going to lie back on th...,"

A yellow flash soon emptied the room entirely.

* * *

Fugaku simply put was seething, being utterly shown up in a matter of minutes by the red-haired bitch and her adopted half-breed runt had incensed him. And now she bore the same rank and social standing as he, the leader of the Uchiha. He calmed himself slightly as he remembered what was soon to unfold. ' _The bitch won't live long enough to enjoy her little victory, not her, not her children, not her fool of a husband. They'll soon be dealt with._ '

He had immediately retreated to one of the rock gardens which represented one of the quieter corners of the Uchiha compound. The running water of a small brook helping to slowly sooth his anger.

He didn't know how long he sat on the grass and he'd almost calmed down before he heard a voice that he didn't want to hear right now, the voice of his own wife.

"Fugaku-san?" Mikoto called over to him, she'd long since ceased using the 'Kun' Honorific. With every word she spoke, he felt his anger and frustration returning. "What do you want?" he firmly said not bothering to turn to face her at all. He knew she'd been ill of late, he didn't know what from and frankly he didn't care. What he did care about was whether Mikoto as one of the stronger clan members would be able to fight when they actually instigated his coup.

"Well?" he darkly growled when she didn't say anything. "I-I, U-Uh wanted t-to tal…"

"Speak clearly woman!" he barked, she jumped at the sudden increase in volume, her anxiety escalating further to the point where she opened her mouth but no words came out, as if an invisible hand had taken a grip of her windpipe and vocal chords.

Fugaku waited, and waited but he heard nothing. He turned to see if she was actually still there, she was and his anger shot up another level. "IF YOU AREN'T GOING TO SAY ANYTHING THEN LEAVE!" he practically screamed at her. What little colour that remained to begin with drained from her face entirely and she fled.

She managed to fight down the urge to simply run and instead held herself to a sedate walk. Her head held low as she quietly wept. He still didn't know, what had just transpired represented her final attempt to inform her husband that she was pregnant.

But now she had to admit defeat as she re-entered their home of nearing twenty years. A bag of clothes and personal belongings was already packed for both her and Sasuke.

Today represented her final attempt to inform her husband that she was pregnant.  
She had hoped it would guide him away from this foolhardy coup but it was in vain. And now he would never learn he was to be a father for the third time.

With the tears still falling down her face she lifted the bag and turned to head for the door but stopped. Placing the bag down again she brought her hands together and pulled the wedding ring from around her finger and gently placed it on the kitchen table. Picking up the bag again she hurried out of the house, she daren't look back.

* * *

The hours of the afternoon passed, Fugaku was still in the Rock Garden where he was again joined by another, this time it was one of the clan elders. "Fugaku-sama," they respectfully greeted as he sat down next to the clan leader.

"I presume you have heard," Fugaku said vaguely. "Of the Uzumaki affair? Word has reached me that she was finally successful."  
"I was so close to denying her again and if it weren't for that half-breed son of hers I would have been."  
"I see," the elder said neutrally. "But ultimately it does not matter, I have thought of a way to get back at them," Fugaku said with a malicious grin. "And what would that be Fugaku-sama?"

The clan leader turned to face the elder. "I want you to round up a few of the more vocal and social clan members. I want them to start spreading a rumour." The grin on his face kept widening, "And what rumour would this be, Fugaku-sama?"  
"I want a rumour spread that the Hokage's youngest son is the Kyūbi Jinchuriki," he said vindictively.

The elder, being an elder, thought more analytically over matters than Fugaku did, he pondered his leaders demand and found positives in it. "I think this has merit Fugaku-sama. Jinchuriki are reviled the world over, not even being a son of the beloved Yondaime will safeguard him from such animosity. Many civilians and Shinobi alike won't care whether it's true or not, despite the fact it is, they'll hate the child regardless."

"And if you can show yourself able to defeat the Kyūbi after releasing it as we intend then the people will side with you. It would aid no end in legitimizing your position as Godaime Hokage."

Now that he thought about it, Fugaku really liked the way that sounded. He was hardly thinking clearly and he'd come up with that plan simply to spite Kushina, her four children meant more to her than anything else, there was no more fitting punishment in his mind.

"You speak wisely elder," Fugaku applauded. "Arigatou, Fugaku-sama. If that will be all then I will carry out your wishes immediately."

The leader of the Uchiha had none and soon was alone once more. It was several hours more before he finally left. The sun had set almost two hours earlier and his journey back home was illuminated by the street lamps and the full moon overhead.

It was a quiet night, there was little wind. In fact there was little of anything making noise. The houses he walked past weren't filled with the sounds of conversation, the preparation and eating of meals. The streets, while far from choked with people at this time or indeed at any time were usually much busier than the abandoned they currently were.

Despite a short list of things that would trigger a Shinobi's sixth sense for danger, Shinobi were trained to be paranoid after all, Fugaku continued his journey home as if he'd not a care in the world.

He reached his home to find none of the lights were on which he did find strange. Mikoto should be home preparing dinner and Sasuke should have been home too. He knew Itachi wouldn't be, that boy was unreadable to Fugaku. He felt less like his son and more a stranger who happened to live at the same address when he wasn't on missions.

Pushing the door open he stepped inside and as he thought all the lights were out. "Anybody here?" he called out, he didn't receive an answer as he deposited his sandals and walked up the hall towards the kitchen.

The kitchen was spotless, no utensils were out, there were no dirty dishes. He spun around, it had just occurred to him that there were no sandals by the door when he entered so nobody truly was home. "Where is everyone?" he quietly said to himself.

His danger sense flared, he jumped back as something large flew through the door leading from the kitchen out into the back garden. Whatever it was landed on the wooden floorboards of the kitchen with a loud thud and didn't move an inch. He activated his Sharingan, to him the room lit up suddenly as if the lights were turned on.

He immediately identified the mass that had been thrown through the door as a body, blood pooled out on the floor. Fugaku recoiled slightly as he saw both eyes had been stabbed out. His sight shot towards where the now broken door stood, a figure stood there. Their outfit was bathed in red, blood running down the tantō they held in their hand.

"Who the fuck are you?" Fugaku demanded. The figure tilted their head to the side, raised their hand to their head and slowly removed the ANBU mask covering their face. With the mask gone the figure opened their eyes and Sharingan stared into Sharingan.

* * *

 **An hour earlier**

The Iwa contingent was hurriedly gathered together in the same room. They looked confusedly at one another, they had all been spending the day relaxing as they saw fit due to no talks today and then they were all suddenly here.

One who didn't share their look of confusion was Kurotsuchi. She stared them all down, "Kurotsuchi-sama, What's going on?" one asked her. "Several days ago I was informed about an imminent event about to take place within Konohagakure that would make major waves both here and abroad. The following day, I was invited to a private meeting with the Hokage and numerous important officials and prominent Shinobi. This event will happen tonight," she explained, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.

Her words took a few moments to properly sink in, "What event?" one apprehensively asked. Kurotsuchi turned to face Naruto who pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against. "You don't need to know the specifics but any minute now, Konoha ANBU will commence a purge of the majority of the Uchiha clan for treason."

The silence that followed was deafening for Naruto, it made him feel uncomfortable and it dragged on for nearly a minute before one of them was finally able to find their voice. "So why are we all here?" there was concern in her voice as she asked. "We were all brought together to guarantee our safety," Kurotsuchi answered. "While we don't expect anything to happen in regards to your safety, we're taking no chances," Naruto picked up.

"I believe this building has already been secured by two or three ANBU squads, some of whom are probably in this room with us. So it would be preferred if you all stayed here until we can confirm the event is over."

Thankfully for Naruto they huddled together and kept quiet, he was expecting to have to fight some arguments and strong-arm a few of them into complying but nothing. And for that Naruto felt something akin to calm for the first time today.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

A somewhat ragged and dishevelled looking Minato stood stock still facing the twelve silent kneeling ANBU in front of him.

All clad in masks they were lined up in three lines, four deep with the team captain at the front. On the right was ANBU Captain Yamato leading team 21, on the left was a reinstated for the night ANBU Captain Dog leading team 20.

And in the middle leading the elite Team Ro, a team that answered to the Hokage alone and not an ANBU Commander, led by ANBU Captain Weasel.

"I take you've all read the pre-brief reports and are now up to date with recent events?"  
"Hai, Hokage-sama," the three Captains replied in unison. "Good," Minato said, "Then you all know then that this was the final option. You twelve represent some of the best available to ANBU thus the responsibility to carry out what is necessary falls to you."

"Throughout this mission you are to utilise the sealing scrolls provided to you to seal the corpses away, if for any reason you are unable to seal the body then you are to destroy both eyes. Sharingan cannot be permitted to escape the village into the hands of our rivals or outright enemies. Do you understand?"  
"Hai, Hokage-sama," all twelve replied.

"Very good then. Your orders are as follows. Team Ro, Team 20 and Team 21 you are this night to carry out the purge of the traitorous elements of the Uchiha clan. Those Uchiha who chose Konoha over the clan had been removed from the compound thus any Uchiha you encounter from here on out are to be considered hostile."

"ANBU Captain Weasel is in overall charge of this mission with ANBU Captains Dog and Yamato in joint secondary command."  
"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"You have received your orders, execute them."  
"Hai," they all said before vanishing as one.

Minato turned to face the window, he let out a deep breath. "And so it begins."

* * *

End Chapter


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

* * *

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* * *

The Purge

The twelve masked figures moved swiftly and silently across the village. No one, civilian or Shinobi noticed their passing. Their destination was out of the way, located on the periphery of the village, the actions of the Nidaime Hokage had seen to that.

They circled around the village to avoid the highly populated village centre and markets, they would still be busy despite the latish hour. With their diversion around the majority of the village complete they all came to a halt on the outskirts of the Uchiha compound. Without a single word he delivered his orders, his hands moving fluidly through the sign language all ANBU knew.

With a silent nod Team 20 vanished, their task to swing around and strike to the west of the compound. They were quickly followed by Team 21 who would enter from the south-east. Team Ro would hit from the north.

Itachi and his team waited, no nervous jitters, no fidgeting, just four stock still, deathly silent Shinobi ready to carry out their mission. Each had an electronic headset/ microphone in one ear, it too was silent.

The first of what they were waiting for rang in their ear, the light crackle of electronic static. They avoided any speech whatsoever unless absolutely necessary. The other teams when in position would push the button to talk but would say nothing, the crackle doing the talking for them. Now they awaited the second.

They had to wait nearly a minute but the second crackle finally sounded in their ear and with that they all began their mental countdown. ' _Juu, Kyuu, Hachi, Shichi, Roku, Go, Shi, San, Ni, Ichi._ ' On one all twelve ANBU made their move.

The first to fall never saw Itachi coming. The young ANBU appearing behind him as he walked down a street, Itachi's tantō driving through the back of his neck severing his upper spine. He was dead before he hit the floor.

The second quickly followed, utterly oblivious, they whistled as they cut through a side-street. A hand clamped over their mouth as they were dragged backwards, a kunai plunging into their chest several times. They only saw a flash of purple as they died.

Both corpses were dragged into darkened corners where they were sealed away. The other two team Ro members watching over them.

Itachi flicked the blood off his tantō as he shunshined to a rooftop. His team was spread out across a few buildings. His team members could take care of themselves so Itachi turned his attention back to the task at hand.

He saw a flash of colour through an open window. He took a moment to make sure he wouldn't be caught entering. Seeing nothing he re-sheathed his tantō and slipped inside.

He was in a narrow corridor, rooms were at either end, sounds of movement came from his left, it looked like the kitchen was that way so he went right. Peering around the corner he spotted another figure sat on a sofa, their back to him.

With chakra coating the underside of his sandals he walked in total silence up behind them. Pulling out a kunai he clasped his hand over their mouth pulled their head back and deeply cut their throat open, blood spraying out over the furniture. He didn't have time to seal them away so he plunged the kunai into both eyes, only pulling back when the blade struck the bone of the eye-socket.

It took a few seconds for them to stop struggling, Itachi keeping his hand over their mouth lest they alert the other down the hall. He hadn't, however, considered their legs which thrashed about, bouncing off the floor and striking the table.

When the struggling finally ended Itachi moved to hide behind a piece of furniture as a voice came down the hall, "Shijo-kun? You alright?" They walked around the corner into the room, the lights were low so she couldn't see the blood. She walked towards the now dead Shijo, she never reached him. A kunai shot through the air, embedding itself in deeply in her heart. She hit the ground with a thud.

He sealed her away and jumped back out the window, he saw Cat was waiting for him, one of the two female members of his team. With a nod to her she moved to the next building, she entered while Itachi waited for her to re-emerge. It was standard procedure for such a mission, the team split into two groups of two. And each duo would take turns either assassinating or keeping watch. It also allowed for them to periodically rest in between kills.

It was only around thirty seconds or so before she re-appeared. She held up a single finger for him, he nodded and held up two fingers in reply. The number of fingers indicated the number killed.

Itachi had personally chosen the northern sector of the compound for his team, it was the major residential zone. But as they carved their way south it would bring them to Itachi's home and the top priority target, his father.

He and Cat, Uzuki Yūgao was her real name. He and his team all knew each other's real names although they rarely interacted outside of their ANBU duties.

They continued butchering their way down the street. By the time they'd reached the end of it, 15 Uchiha were dead, there were 156 for the three teams to collectively kill.

Itachi had only caught fleeting glimpses of the other members of Team Ro, they were one street over, moving from building to building as they were. The four ANBU had so far been unchallenged, no more than one or two Uchiha had been encountered at a time but a group of three were walking up the street towards them.

The two ANBU moved into position, Yūgao and Itachi were on either side of the street atop the roofs, they'd be patient and bide their time, waiting for the opportunity to present itself.

They were almost directly beneath them when a loud shout off in distance drew the attention of the three Uchiha below. They all turned around and wondered amongst themselves what the shout was. Turning back around they were confronted by Yūgao. The presence of an ANBU mask made the three of them recoil in surprise.

"Uh, can we help you ANBU-san?" With their attention focused on her the two slightly further back never saw Itachi drop down from above, a thin layer of chakra coating two kunai, each penetrated their skulls with a sickening crack. The disturbance made the third turn again, Yūgao's katana moved and in an instant she slashed.

The Uchiha stood there a moment, a mixture of shock and surprise, he stood there for a few moments before collapsing to the ground, a fountain of blood shot into the air as his head slipped from his shoulders. All were quickly sealed away.

' _Onto the next street,'_ Itachi thought to himself as he and Yūgao disappeared.

Between the four of them they cleaned out half a dozen streets within the first twenty minutes with nearly 40 kills amassed.

Next up was a much more difficult task, the residential areas of the compound also hosted the few bars and restaurants the compound had. They all came back together on a roof across from a fairly busy looking bar.

Itachi turned to face the second female team member, nicknamed Owl. He made a series of hand signals ' _Count them._ ' She understood and wordlessly activated her Dojutsu, unseen to them the blood vessels around her eyes swelled. She took a few seconds to tally how many were in the bar. ' _I count thirteen, one of them is behind the building._ '

Itachi thought a moment before dispensing his orders. ' _Owl, kill the straggler behind the building, wait for us to breach then come in through the back. Cat, Dove, you'll position yourselves near entrances and wait for my signal after I've entered._ ' His hands went to his pouch and he pulled out a batch of seal tags and split them between the three of them.  
 _'Each of you place these around the building and on the roof. They're sound suppression seals so we can be loud inside, activate them the moment you hear a commotion._ ' They each nodded, took some of the tags and were gone from Itachi's sight.

He wiped away some of the blood splattered over his ANBU gear and placed his mask on its hip holster. His reveal as an ANBU in the bar would be of little importance, firstly because everyone within would soon be dead and every Uchiha seemed to know he was an ANBU operative anyway despite the secrecy surrounding the organisation.

Dropping to the ground Itachi de-activated his Sharingan before casually walking through the door. Some turned to see who'd entered and some of them were surprised to see Itachi of all people walk in. The heir to the Uchiha clan wasn't exactly known for his social side.

He sat on a stool at the bar and even ordered a drink. He had to wait, wait for everyone to stop paying attention to him. Nearly ten minutes passed, he was about to pull a kunai when a hand fell on his shoulder. "Well, well, lookey here, if it ain't the heir himself. I ain't ever seen you in here before," an Uchiha drunkenly said to him.

Itachi didn't reply but he gave the man a very annoyed look. It did nothing to deter the drunk though who's hand on Itachi's shoulder kept pulling him to and fro. This brought words out of Itachi, "Take your hand off my shoulder." Nothing happened, the hand remained but he tried again, instead opting for a firmer voice this time. "Take. Your hand. Off. My. Shoulder." But still the hand remained. ' _Oh fuck this,´_ he thought as he took a breath. The man's other hand was resting on the bar.

So he slammed a kunai through it.

"ARGH!" the drunk howled out as his hand was pinned to the bar counter. He struggled hopelessly to pull the weapon out as everyone else was startled out of their seats by the commotion. Itachi had his tantō buried to the hilt in the chest of another before anyone could react. Then his team arrived.

Yūgao's katana weaving through the body of another leaving what better resembled a pile of meat. The bartender tried to escape out the back but ran headlong into Owl, a quick Jūken strike to the chest ground their heart to a halt and they dropped. Needing to assist her team she quickly stabbed out both eyes.

She emerged from the back to what could only be described as a bloodbath. The Uchiha in the bar stood no chance, all couldn't match the ability of an ANBU and that was before they'd started drinking. Already thirteen were reduced to six, those remaining half dozen trying desperately to defend themselves.

Itachi ducked under a backhanded kunai slash before replying with a horizontal slash of his own right across the Uchiha's belly, their intestines spilling out all over the floor. Their cry of pain was quickly cut off as the head was detached from the body thus leaving five.

Two were trying to team up on the final team member, Dove. The newest member of Team Ro, he had quickly established himself as a very talented ANBU despite his young years, he was a year younger than even Itachi. When the mask was on, Dove was just as merciless and efficient as the rest of them. But when the mask came off, however, Dove was reputedly to be one of the nicest, well-mannered people you could ever hope to meet. It was this that earned him the Dove mask.

Dove blocked a kunai with his tantō and with his free hand he threw a flurry of well-placed senbon at the other. All of them digging into nerves or ligaments stopping the Uchiha in their tracks where they were quickly cut down by Itachi. Smashing the kunai out of the way Dove stabbed his tantō up through the chin and out the top of the skull, they went limp and he was forced to let go of the tantō and jump back.

Meanwhile Cat had another by the hair and was bouncing their head off a wooden pillar, the blood flow increasing with each impact, a resounding crack signalling the nose giving way as they slipped into unconsciousness.

The final two soon succumbed to Team Ro leaving just the one pinned to the bar. He was still trying desperately to extract the kunai from his hand. He was alerted to the silence and fearfully turned his head to find the four ANBU staring at him, the pain had shaken him out of his drunken stupor. "Ww…Why?" he blubbered at Itachi who raised the weasel mask back to his face, "Because it needed to be done."

The four of them exited the bar, the bodies sealed away. Both groups of two nodded to one another and moved to tackle another street.

Another twenty minutes, another two streets were cleared. Now all that remained for Team Ro was a single street, there were fewer houses but they were larger. These were the residences of the clan elders.

Itachi caught Owl's attention, ' _How many do you count?'_ The Hyūga went from house to house tallying the number of Uchiha present. ' _I count 16._ '  
' _Do you see any with wearing a necklace with the Uchiha symbol hanging from it?_ '  
' _Yes, I counted six._ '  
'Good, t _he clan elders are all here. Cat, Owl, take the left-hand side, Dove with me._ '

Dove took point as they broke into the first house, the two elderly occupants who were already sleeping were silently killed so they moved to the next house. There was just the one occupant this time, Dove snuck up behind them and with his arms wrapped around their neck and mouth he twisted them violently. With a sickening crack they went limp in his arms.

They moved from house to house with extreme efficiency, bodies were sealed away in short order and they moved on to the next one. Owl and Cat kept pace across the street. It wasn't ten minutes before they reached the largest property at the top of the street.

Owl suddenly appeared in front of Itachi, her hands flying through words, ' _There's one more coming up the street to the east._ '  
' _Leave them to me,_ ' Itachi replied, ' _I'll deal with the final house too. You three wait here._ ' While he couldn't see behind their masks he got three slightly sympathetic looks, the final house was Itachi's own. ' _Your father is inside,_ ' Owl confirmed.

He steeled himself and moved to deal with the straggler. He moved at maximum speed, the poor fool didn't have a chance. He was walking home and saw and felt nothing when he suddenly collapsed to the floor. One stab through the back, the blade slipping between two discs, a quick twist severing the spine in two, two quick jabs to the face dealing with the eyes. A quick kill with minimal blood splatter.

He hefted the body onto his shoulder and swung round to the back of his house. The curtains in the kitchen were still open, with his Sharingan he could easily peer into the darkened room. His father spun around suddenly and Itachi took his chance. He tossed the body through the back door, it's light wooden frame easily giving way under the weight of the corpse.

Itachi stood in the doorway, his father had jumped back and had just activated his Sharingan, he recoiled a little as he realised it was a body on the floor. Itachi stood stock still, his tantō in hand as Fugaku's gaze turned to him.

"Who the fuck are you?" he angrily demanded. Itachi lifted a hand to his mask and slowly removed it, with the mask removed he span his Sharingan menacingly.

It took Fugaku a moment but he recognised the person in front of him, it was his own son, his heir. But there wasn't shock, there was no sadness, perhaps it was a sign of how committed Fugaku was to the Coup because all he felt was anger. "What the fuck do you think you're doing boy!" He shouted but Itachi only stared back impassively, the tomoe in his eyes occasionally spinning.

"I am doing what is necessary. Tou-san." The use of Honorifics seems to only fuel his rage as he pulled a hidden Kunai from under a kitchen counter and rushed Itachi. Itachi jumped back into the open back garden to give himself some room as Fugaku charged after him.

Despite not thinking his father overly capable he wasn't about to be lax as Kunai stuck tantō, the sharp ringing of steel echoing through the silent night. Fugaku did the pressing and Itachi kept conceding ground, effectively leading him in circles around the garden.

Fugaku threw the kunai at him and used the time it gave him to weave hand-seals. " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**." He fired a fair sized fireball towards Itachi who upped his speed to simply Shunshin out of the way. Reappearing off to the side as the fireball struck a stone wall which was blown apart by the explosion.

"Gah, you couldn't have just stood still could you, traitor." Again all Fugaku got was that apathetic, emotionless look. "How many? How many of your own clan have you kill?"

"Besides you… All of them, all the disloyal ones anyway," Itachi said succinctly. His words made Fugaku pause, "All of them?" he quietly asked. "Everyone who chose the Coup, everyone who chose the clan over the village has been eliminated," Itachi elaborated.

"All those men and women. My clan.. Your clan! HOW DARE YOU!" Fugaku bellowed as his anger returned. "You're going to pay Itachi, son or not, you will pay," he declared as he channelled more chakra to his eyes. A secret known only to Fugaku was his possession of the Mangekyō Sharingan he'd awoken years prior during the third great world war.

Now Itachi was surprised as his father's eyes morphed, taking the pattern of three dots followed by three curves that spiralled counter-clockwise towards the pupil. ' _Perhaps this is how he intended to control the nine-tails?_ ' he wondered.

"Can you see it, Itachi? Your impending doom. Even you cannot best the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan," he confidently called out. Itachi was only half listening to him, there were questions flying around his mind that were more important. ' _Does this mean Tou-san has read the true inscriptions on the stone tablet?_ ' The contents of that tablet had been of concern to Itachi since he had first read it with his Mangekyō.

The secrets of the Mangekyō, how it can control the tailed beasts. Warning of the misfortune the Sharingan can bring, clan secrets long forgotten. The story of the Rikudō Sennin, of a being named Kaguya and of a 'God Tree'. A warning about the **Mugen Tsukuyomi** (Infinite Tsukuyomi) but also bizarrely, how the same technique would be the Uchiha clan's saviour.

"Come boy, no games let us end this," Fugaku challenged as Itachi turned his attention back to his father. "Very well," Itachi replied.

Fugaku wove hand-seals and set the stage for a powerful Genjutsu over Itachi, he caught his eldest son's gaze and cast the illusion. The Mangekyō, Fugaku had found substantially increased the power and potency of Genjutsu, if only he knew what he was going up against.

Itachi saw the illusion begin to take shape around him, ' _That's not going to work, Tou-san._ ' He directed more chakra to his own eyes, the tomoe spinning and morphing into the three-sided pinwheel that represented his Mangekyō.

Using only his eyes Itachi dispelled the Genjutsu, the arrogant smirk on Fugaku's face practically slapped off. "Y-you, you have the M-mangekyō?" he stuttered.

Itachi couldn't quite believe how much of his father's confidence had been sucked away but he took his chance. "Yes. And now Tou-san I will show you the real power of these eyes." Channelling even more chakra into his left eye. A line of blood fell down his cheek as he spoke, " **Tsukuyomi**."

Fugaku couldn't move, he couldn't even look away. The world seemed to melt away as colour was replaced with black and grey. Itachi seemed to turn to smoke and vanish only to reform just to Fugaku's left. "W-what is this?" he asked, fear evident in his voice. "This is my Tsukuyomi, here I am both King and Kami. What I will to happen will happen."

To prove his point, Fugaku suddenly found himself hanging upside down beneath a tree, a rope tied to a thick branch and around his feet. Now Itachi's face was only inches from his own. "Here, time has little meaning. One second will pass in the real world but to your mind it will feel like a day. And your day in here will not be pleasant. You will experience the other ability of these eyes."

To Fugaku Itachi seemed to float backwards as the blood streaked down his right cheek, " **Amaterasu**."

* * *

Fū peered through the branches of the tree he had positioned himself in, he was observing the house in front of him and had been for some time. While he would never question Danzō-sama's orders in person, it didn't stop his mind from asking itself questions. For example; Why did Danzō-sama choose now to try and snare the Kyūbi Jinchuriki when he was defended by Kushina and Tri.

' _Of all the times Danzō-sama, why now? This may be one of the worst times to make such a move. Everyone's on edge thanks to the Uchiha playing up._ ' He turned his head in the direction of the Uchiha compound, ' _Speaking off the Uchiha, the purge should be well underway by now. I need to make my move or any chance I may have will pass._ '

He dropped from the tree in utter silence and snuck up to the houses outer wall which he quickly scaled, he had been able to figure out the upstairs layout through his observations and perhaps his luck was in tonight because a window upstairs was wide open.

Reaching the window, he carefully peered through, he could see the upstairs landing, he could hear activity downstairs, he had caught glimpses of Kushina through the downstairs windows. There was someone upstairs but he couldn't tell who it was. He had to hope it was Rezano, if the boy was downstairs he'd never get him.

He had been given the option of withdrawing but that was only if it was impossible to catch the child alone and he wasn't able to lie to Danzō. He carefully clambered through the window. He peered through a door, he found a bedroom fitting of a young girl so he moved on.

Another door, another bedroom. This time the room's walls were covered in seal designs and the desk was stacked high with scroll paper but this room too was empty. The third door led to yet another bedroom but this one wasn't empty. Sat at a desk with his back to the door was Fū's young target, his mind almost shouting in jubilation at his good fortune. He waited a few moments, listening for any other activity upstairs, he heard and felt nothing.

He slowly crept forwards, Rezano was looking down at his desk, an ink brush in hand. Fū with a small paper seal in hand gently pressed it against the back of the boy's neck. "What th…" Rezano's head fell forward, Fū caught him and gently setting it down he turn it towards him. The child was out cold.

Fū pulled out a pair of tongs that he'd use to hold his tongue while he applied the seal. Normally Danzō was the only one who could apply the seal but he had provided Fū with a paper variant that would apply it for him.

Holding open Rezano's jaw, handling the tongs and a paper seal took a fair amount of his attention. More than enough for him to not notice there were more than two people in the room. So Fū never saw in a dark corner of the room the three tomoe Sharingan morphing into a four-pointed pinwheel. He would also never remember the single whispered word.

" **Kotoamatsukami**."

* * *

Fugaku collapsed, he couldn't raise his arms to break his fall, his limbs twitched periodically. Physically he was fine but his skin felt as if it was scorched. The pain receptors in his brain firing constantly despite there being no reason to.

In his mind he had spent 24 hours being burned alive over and over by flames he thought to only be a myth, despite what the stone tablet may have said. He couldn't resist in any way as Itachi grabbed him by his shirt and dragged him back into the kitchen. With a great heave he threw Fugaku up against the Kitchen counter top.

There were no words spoken, Itachi just wanted to get it over with. The tantō was pushed through Fugaku's back and out his chest. His mind barely even registered the life-threatening injury. It was still trying to come to terms with what had happened within Tsukuyomi and simply couldn't process anything else.

His eyes stared at the counter top, nothing of what he was seeing was recognised by him, even as his gaze fell on the small golden band, it never dawned on him that he was looking at the ring he had given his wife almost two decades earlier. Even as his vision darkened, the golden band remained, it would become the last thing he saw.

He fell sideways, hitting the floor hard, Uchiha Fugaku was dead. Itachi slumped down next to him, he didn't pull his tantō out of his father's body in fact he didn't do anything.

And that's how his team found him, the ten minutes time limit had elapsed and they'd moved immediately. Seeing the way that Itachi reacted to their presence, or lack thereof Cat as the team's No.2 took command. "Owl, seal the body away. Dove, carry Weasel. We're done here." They both immediately complied, Cat pulling the tantō out of the corpse and wiping away the blood.

The four of them withdrew to the collective 'extraction point'. The other two teams were already waiting for them, just as Team Ro were, Teams 20 and 21 were also painted red. "Is he alright?" a masked Kakashi asked. "Yes, he's fine. Tonight's events have… caught up with him."

"Are we all done here?" Dove asked, everyone nodded. "We report back to Hokage-sama. Our job is finished. Move out," Kakashi ordered.

Unbeknownst to all of them, they were being watched. A figure clad in a plain dark cloak and a spiral mask with only the one cut out for their right eye.

* * *

"After the ten-minute time limit had expired we moved in. We found Fugaku already dead and Weasel like he is now. We immediately sealed his corpse, secured Weasel and met up with the other teams and headed here," Cat explained to Minato.

Eleven ANBU kneeled in front of him, Itachi had been set down in a chair, he hadn't looked up since, Minato had already called for Tsunade.

He spent another minute or two questioning his ANBU before there was a knock at the door. "Enter," Minato called out. The door was opened by Shizune who was followed in by Tsunade. "You asked for me?" the blonde Sannin said. Minato simply pointed to Itachi.

The two medics immediately attended to him, "What happened?" Tsunade asked the gathered ANBU, "Physically he's fine, but.. I don't know enough about the mental side to draw any conclusions," Cat answered.

Tsunade cupped her hand under Itachi's chin and gently lifted his head up. "His eyes are incredibly bloodshot," she noted, the normally white sclera of his eyes were shaded red. "Strain from overusing the Sharingan?" Shizune offered. "Possibly," she said, but she'd seen strained Sharingan before, but nothing this extreme, she could see the dried red line running down either cheek, both starting beneath each eye.

"Shizune, can you hold his head still please." Shizune's hand replaced Tsunade's under Itachi chin. The Sannin moving both her hands to his temple where she began calming his overstressed mind, it had completely seized up. She focused on restoring his ability to focus and be aware of his surroundings. Slowly but surely she felt his mind respond, his eyes moving just a little, his fingers reactively flexing.

It was nearly twenty minutes before they got a word out of him, everyone else in the room just silently watched the two medics work. Tsunade gave a brief nod to Shizune who made sure her face was right in front of his, so he could look at nothing but look at her.

"Itachi-san?" she tentatively said to him, there was a flicker of understanding as he blinked, he focused on her face, "Shizune-san?" he awkwardly asked. She smiled as she leaned back to give him some breathing space, "How are you feeling, Itachi-san?" He sighed deeply, "About as well as can be expected."

Minato turned to the eleven other ANBU, "Team 20, 21. You're dismissed. And thank you." The eight ANBU inclined their heads and vanished leaving just Team Ro.

"Hokage-sama?" Cat said, she was curious as to why they four had been kept behind. "Team Ro, I want to personally thank you for what you've done tonight. You might be comprised of some of the most talented personnel who currently don the mask but you have the youngest average age of any active team by far. All of you are under the age of 25, and two of you are still teenagers. For the record, the mission you have just undertaken will be given an S-Rank rating, you'll be paid through the secondary method."

All four of them, even Itachi took heed of Minato's words. There was an unwritten rule within ANBU, 'Your team wasn't considered a true team until you'd completed your first S-Rank mission.' It had made for a weird situation in ANBU headquarters because Team Ro was considered one of the elite, who answered solely to the Hokage despite their lack of an S-Rank mission under their belts. You were still considered a 'junior' team until you had done.

This primarily was because they weren't the first Iteration of Team Ro, it was originally lead by Hatake Kakashi until he left ANBU, at which point the team was dissolved. It was revived when Itachi was promoted to ANBU captain and awarded its captainship. Minato had tasked the young Uchiha with moulding a talented young team, something he'd done splendidly.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Minato heard Itachi say. Despite what was required of them, i.e. the suppression of emotions there were a few giddy smiles behind the masks. "As the laws of ANBU dictate upon the completion of an S-Rank mission, you get the next week off but I'm extending it until the end of the month," he glanced briefly over at Itachi as he spoke.

"Cat, Owl, Dove. You're dismissed and thank you." They too inclined their heads and vanished.

Minato turned towards his young captain. "Are you going to be alright, Itachi-kun?" he seriously asked despite his soft tone of voice. "Hai, Hokage-sama." Minato's eyes narrowed slightly, he didn't sound very convincing. "Itachi-kun, I know you're a private individual but I'll be referring you to a Yamanaka therapist to help you through this. I've seen what happens to Shinobi who repress emotions like you do when they reach breaking point. And I've no interest in watching you snap."

Itachi looked down glumly, "I understand, Hokage-sama," he weakly replied. "Your mother and brother are with Hiruzen-sama." Itachi took that as his leave to go, "Thank you, Hokage-sama," he said before vanishing.

Minato sighed, "No Itachi-kun, thank you," he quietly said.

* * *

 **Somewhere underneath Konoha**

"Ah, Fū, you've returned. Were you successful?"  
"Unfortunately not Danzō-sama. The Jinchuriki was always in sight of someone else and I deemed it highly unwise to attempt to get close to the child with Kushina-san within striking distance."

Danzō glared at his subordinate, he had been rather hopeful Fū would succeed despite the potential difficulties. In Fū's mind he was being completely honest and the seal under Fū's tongue agreed when it didn't respond. "Very well then, a shame. In future we'll have to plan more effectively. You're dismissed Fū."

* * *

 **With Naruto and Kurotsuchi**

They both watched as the Iwa delegates were escorted away by members of Konoha ANBU. They'd all been confined to that single room for some time now and nobody had said a word. Everyone had sat in silence, one read a magazine, two played a board game, the pieces of which were just left and not packed away, another had just stared at the wall as if it were an object of great interest. Kurotsuchi had watched on as Naruto paced back and forth, she was convinced he had worn a hole into the dull blue carpet.

And now with the crisis seemingly over Naruto looked out the window, a grave look on his face as Kurotsuchi moved to stand next to him, the last Iwa delegate bar herself exiting the room to the corridor beyond. "How're you holding up?" she asked him apprehensively.

He turned to face her. At first, he'd been understanding, the events of tonight had to happen, there was no alternative. But as the operation began the nerves, the concern quickly set in, concern for his close friend, what he felt must have paled in comparison to Itachi. As time ticked by and his laps across the room racked up the nerves were replaced with apprehension; What if something went wrong? What if the coup started anyway? Would it mean Civil war?

Such thoughts only heightened his anxiety so he tried to force them from his mind, he failed. The speed of his pacing only increased as the night continued, each minute that ticked by worse than the last. What must it have felt like for the Uchiha who'd been saved? If this operation failed they'd surely be among the most prominent targets as would Naruto's family.

Then the all-clear had arrived, it was over, Itachi and his fellow ANBU were successful, Konoha had averted civil war. But despite that Naruto still had misgivings, these weren't some two-bit bandits or a group of missing-nin, these were members of the Uchiha clan. Members whom the general populace would believe, until morning at least, were loyal to the village and by extension them. The political and social upheaval this would cause could take years to settle again.

Might the populace demand concessions of the other clans? Might they demand they shrink their clan holdings? Loosen their monopolies on specific goods and services? In reality, probably not, Konohagakure, after all, was a military dictatorship but even the discussion of such questions might lead to fractious relations within the village. Only time would tell, perhaps that was for the best since so many considered time the greatest healer.

"I'll be alright, I-I guess I just need time to... come to terms with the night's events."  
"Ok," she placed a supportive hand on his shoulder. "I know we agreed to talk about us. But... could we do it another time? I-I've suddenly lost my enthusiasm for.. well everything." Naruto sounded utterly disconsolate. The feminine hand on his shoulder squeezed slightly, "I understand," she said.

"Thank you, Kuro-chan."

* * *

It had been several hours since they'd been informed it was over. And still, Itachi hadn't been seen. Izumi had been searching for him for a while now and she now had a decent idea where he was.

Pushing some branches aside she stepped out into a small clearing on the edge of a steep hill and low and behold there he was, still clad in his blood covered ANBU gear, his legs tucked into his chest with his arms wrapped around them.

He didn't respond to her presence but he flinched when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "It's me," she reassured him. He relaxed upon hearing her voice. She leaned her head against his and stared out over the barely distinguishable trees below them.

"How can I face them?" Itachi asked, his voice cracking with emotion, something neither of them was used to seeing Itachi display. "How can I face them?" he said again, "After what I've done." He added, his words barely coherent. "I…" she hesitated, what was she supposed to say? Was there anything she could say that would help?

She couldn't think of anything and her silence inadvertently pushed Itachi over the edge and for the first time Izumi witnessed Itachi cry. She tightened her grip on him and allowed his tears to run its course.

"You did what had to be done Itachi-kun," she softly reassured him. Thanks to the events of tonight, Izumi no longer had a family. Her mother had died when she was young and she detested her father and older brother. She'd moved out the first moment she could, in fact the young man crying in her arms was the one who'd paid the deposit on her apartment. So eager was he to see her freed from her family.

She owed a great deal to Itachi and right now it was her turn to help him.

* * *

End Chapter


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

* * *

Sombre Discoveries

* * *

Konoha was always going to be a little different in the aftermath of the purges and that's what it became. The weather felt a little gloomier, the clouds overhead a little darker, the sun not as bright. Everyone who called Konohagakure home seemed to have lost a little of their cheer. The complete silence following Minato's pronouncement was eerie, no one spoke, not even a whisper, not even a cough.

In response, the other Shinobi clans concerned over village perceptions took action to improve their reputations and relations with the general Shinobi and civilian populations. Their efforts bore fruit as it also allowed others to better understand the normally isolated clans and better appreciate their usually unacknowledged contributions to the village.

The Nara clan for the first time worked with civilian herders to tend to their deer populations. Given how inherently lazy most of the Nara clan was it was a surprise they hadn't thought of it earlier since it greatly reduced the workload of many.

The Aburame started just simply interacting with the rest of the village more, while always polite and courteous they had almost always kept to themselves, but no longer. It wasn't uncommon now to see an Aburame clan member perusing through the large open-air markets anymore or socialising.

With the Uchiha clan massively reduced in size, it was left for others to fill the now gaping holes in the Konoha police force. The Inuzuka and Hyūga clans filled many of the positions, with the rest taken by clanless Shinobi. Bizarrely the combination of the Inuzuka's exuberance and the Hyūga's stoic professionalism synergized incredibly well as the new police force quickly built itself a reputation for efficiency thanks to the Hyūgas and a more open, friendlier face courtesy of the Inuzuka's.

As for the remainder of the Uchiha clan, they began the long, slow process of rebuilding their shattered reputation. They started with concessions, they ceded nearly 40% of their clan holdings back to the village, agreed to no longer run the Konoha police force and handed over their previously secret Jutsu library so that all Konoha Shinobi may put them to use.

This was far more than was initially asked of them, Minato had only made minor demands to help the broken clan save face in the eyes of the village, or at least as much as could be saved. The Yondaime Hokage had deemed the decimation of their clan numbers as sufficient punishment. But Uchiha Mikoto had extended the offer and the council had accepted it. The final act was to bar the Uchiha clan head from taking their seat and deliberating on the council for the next five years.

The concessions had the desired effect, the village was placated, there were a few isolated incidents of Uchiha members begin harassed but were quickly dealt with by the new look police force. And the village adapted, it moved on as all things must do with the passing of time. These events Rezano saw and experienced first hand but there were many more, some he knew the existence of, others he didn't.

For starters, he and his classmates graduated from the Academy, he was delighted to finally be an official Shinobi.

*Thud*

Tri's suspension was upheld, ending on the day Tsunade confirmed him once again medically fit as Minato had originally declared. With his Hitai-ate returned and the uproar from the Purge still occupying the minds of many he was quickly and quietly promoted, Minato had found a line of work he suited and immediately put him to work. This Rezano had indirectly seen unfold.

*Smash*

The Purge had also had a knock-on effect on the negotiations with the Iwa delegation, it had completely over-shadowed and pushed them far down the list of priorities. So sadly they had returned to Iwagakure with nothing having been agreed but for a promise to pursue another diplomatic exchange at a later date, something which did eventually take place months later.

It did ensure that Naruto and Kurotsuchi would have to wait out those months but their patience wasn't rewarded. The second meeting took place in the rocky village of Iwagakure but not a single opportunity presented itself over the course of the several weeks Naruto was there thus their wait would have to continue. This was something Rezano knew nothing about.

*Thud*

But then again even if he did, he'd push it from his mind. Rezano had far more pressing concerns, things that were far more important in his life, things that took immediate precedence. Such as the kunai and Shuriken that were currently flying past his head.

"Come back here you little shit!" an angry voice shouted from somewhere behind him. He tried to put it out of his mind as he ran, jumping from tree to tree, branches slapping against his face leaving scratches to go with his whisker birthmarks.

He was so confused by what was happening. He and his sister had brought the scroll just as Mizuki-sensei had said. Then he'd turned on them and now he didn't know where Minusha was. They'd both been separated and he was scared something had happened to her. He was working himself into a panic as images of his potentially dead sister flashed through his mind. With him so distracted he completely missed the barrage of kunai aimed at him.

"AH!," he screamed in pain as one of the sharp implements cut the ligament at the back of his left ankle. His left leg was planted at the time so he couldn't jump to the next tree. He came crashing down hard on the dirt below, his head cracking off an exposed tree root leaving a mean looking cut beside his right eye, blood quickly running down his face. It also knocked him for six and sevens.

His head rang and his vision swam and he couldn't refocus his mind. His eyelids felt heavy and he was starting to feel nauseous. He tried to crawl away but struggled to get his limbs to respond properly. His vision worsened as blood got into his left eye. He cried out in pain again as a foot came down hard on his bad ankle.

He was pulled to his feet by his hair and thrown back against a tree, again his head smacking off the wood. He fell on his backside, propped up against the tree trunk. The figure in front of him was just a blur, he still knew it was Mizuki-sensei but he couldn't make out any facial features, he could barely tell what colour his clothes were.

Not that he'd be able to fight back if he could see straight, he didn't have any of his equipment or his chain kunai blades on him.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, little Rezano-kun," Mizuki grinned. "You know, I put all those hours into planning how I'd get you all on your own, away from your parents, away from your brothers. I wouldn't have bothered if I'd have known it was going to be this easy." The young boy was just about able to understand his words, "Whii?" he slurred

"Why you ask?" The teacher shook his head in amusement. "Because little fox, you're the reason my family are dead."  
"W-wha?" Rezano's confusion deepened, he'd never killed anybody in his life and why did Mizuki call him 'little fox'? "Did you not know little fox?" Rezano didn't answer, Mizuki laughed as he interpreted his silence as no.

"My, my little fox. There is much you don't know. But most importantly what you don't know is that the tale that the Yondaime killed the Kyūbi is a lie. Rezano kept quiet, what on earth was he going to say? "It's impossible to kill a Bijū, did you know that? The only way to successfully defeat them is to seal them away," he explained. But still Rezano didn't know what he was talking about.

"Wow, I must say I'm disappointed Rezano-kun. You were one of the smartest in your class I bet Meshikamaru-san would have gotten it by now. You can't seal a Bijū into any old thing, it's too powerful, a scroll just won't do. You have to seal it into a person, the younger the better, perhaps now you can figure out who."

Even with his brain all over the place he was able to pool enough of his thinking power to piece together what Mizuki meant. What he came up with made his heart sink, ' _It couldn't be true, could it?'_

"Ah, there you go," Mizuki laughed as he saw Rezano's facial expression change. "You've put it all together I see. Yes little fox, it's true. You are the Kyūbi Jinchuriki! You are the Kyūbi!" he triumphantly declared. Mizuki continued laughing for a few seconds as he walked away. He reached around 15 feet, stopped and turned around.

"When I first heard the rumour, I didn't know whether to believe it or not. I'd pretty much given up on ever getting my revenge for that night, the night you killed my parents and destroyed my life. Many people in this village consider your brother Naruto a hero, I wonder after I've killed you whether those same people would consider me a hero too."

"Oh yes, it's not just me who knows. All those dark looks, all those insults you overheard. The whole village knows it and they hate you. Not even your precious parents can save you from their scorn." Mizuki revelled in the comments he was laying into Rezano with, the boy's look of confusion was turning into one of despair.

"And now it's time to end this little fox. Die knowing that nobody will know who killed you. You and your sister's deaths will forever remain a mystery," he sneered. Admittedly Rezano didn't need to know that he'd lost Minusha almost as quickly as the boy did, he had no idea where the brat was nor did he care, he had the forbidden scroll over his back. He'd be long gone by the time they figured out what happened.

He lifted up a Fūma Shuriken, pulled his arms back and hefted it with all his might. Rezano's vision focused just enough to see the large black instrument of death sailing towards him. Seeing his death coming he closed his eyes in resignation.

* * *

 **Minutes earlier**

"Suzushii, please tell me you see something," Naruto called over. He was growing more and more concerned. They'd been searching for nearly ten minutes now. Unbeknownst to nearly everyone the forbidden scroll had a highly advanced security system protecting it, utilising some of the incredible electronic-based camera technology imported from Yuki no Kuni (Land of Snow).

It meant ANBU knew almost immediately that it had been taken and they knew who had taken it too. Within minutes the Hokage had been informed and not much later ANBU squads were out in full force across the village. Naruto and his squad were about to depart for a mission when they were roped into the search as well.

The Hyūga was scanning through the innumerable trees that surrounded Konoha. He'd opened his Byakugan's field of vision up as wide as possible, zooming in whenever he spotted something, like he was right now. "I found Rezano, about a mile and a half ahead, just off to the left."  
"What about Minusha-chan?" Naruto worriedly exclaimed. "About the same distance but off to the right slightly, they're maybe four hundred yards apart," he answered, his eyes were drawn back to the left. "There's someone chasing Rezano."  
"Friendly?" Hana asked. Suzushii shook his head, "No they're throwing kunai at him."

Naruto had to react quickly and he did, "I'm trusting the three of you to get to Rezano, I'll go for Minusha."  
"Hai," the three replied. Naruto was gone in a flash.

The blonde Jōnin charged through the trees at a speed Naruto didn't know he was capable of. It was speed more commonly associated with his brother, speed fuelled by adrenaline. Blurs of brown and green flashed past him, it almost seemed like his vision was narrowing. That mile and a half was chewed up in less than 100 seconds.

He burst out through the last patch of greenery. On the ground below him was a young girl with bright red hair, she was huddled in between two large tree roots, tears pouring down her face, there was an elongated cut down her right forearm, blood dripped from her hand.

Naruto was of mixed emotions as he dropped down in front of her, he was both angry and yet his heart was breaking at seeing her cry like that. He gently put his hands on her shoulders, she shook trying to get loose of his grasp, "It's me Minusha-chan, it's me," he reassured her. Her head shot up as she recognised his voice, "Nii-chan!" she cried as she threw herself into his arms.

"I'm s-sorry, Nii-chan," she blubbed. "Hush now Minusha-chan, it's ok," he comforted her. "I-I don't know where Rezano Nii-chan is."  
"It's ok, my team know where he is, we need to go see if he's ok so we can't stay here, okay?" he explained as he tried to curb the blood seeping from her wound. She continued crying, a hand rubbing her red eyes but she nodded. He lifted her up and held her with a single arm as he took off again.

* * *

Mizuki watched with delight as the Fūma Shuriken drew closer to Rezano. Time seemed to slow down so Mizuki saw every detail as a white-eyed Shinobi slid in front of the Shuriken, twisting their body they shouted out. " **Kaiten** ," (Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven).

"NO!" Mizuki shouted in anger as the oversized Shuriken struck the revolving orb of blue chakra, bouncing off with a loud metallic clang and deeply embedding in a nearby tree trunk. "Why? Why couldn't you just let the demon die!" his voice almost despairing.

Suzushii came to a stop and assumed his Jūken stance but he didn't say anything, he left that to the others. "You really are pathetic, Mizuki," Hana darkly said. The teacher flinched, she was right behind him, he hadn't felt her presence at all. Shinsuke appeared next to Rezano's side, a protective hand on his shoulder.

"Please you three, see reason. Just let me kill the fox. No one has to know," he pleaded. The three Chūnin looked at one another, then at Rezano then finally back to Mizuki. "Nah," Shinsuke answered, "we could kill you instead though. I reckon there's a good case for treason here."  
"You know, I think you might be right Shinsuke," Hana evilly added, a malicious grin showing off her fangs.

Then the penny dropped for Mizuki, if Hana was here then so were her Ninken, he mentally winced as his eyes began scanning for an escape route. His worry escalated as he heard the low growls of the trio of oversized canines.

He ran, straight into the trees. Naruto's three Chūnin chuckled amongst themselves, something that confused Rezano greatly. "I've got the boy, you two deal with him," Shinsuke said, the other two nodded and shot off after him, quickly followed by the Haimaru brothers.

"Will they catch him?" a quiet voice asked him. "Hmm," Shinsuke said, he admittedly hadn't been listening. "Will they catch him?" the injured boy repeated. The Chūnin gave him a wide grin, "Oh, don't worry kid he's got no chance."  
"Really?" Rezano didn't seem too convinced by Shinsuke's casual attitude. "Yep, he can't outrun three Ninken and he can't hide from Suzushii's Byakugan. So don't worry, he's done for," he said as he looked over the boy's injuries.

And that was how Naruto with Minusha in arm found the both of them, Shinsuke wrapping a bandage around Rezano's head. Naruto looked around, "Where are the others?" Shinsuke didn't get chance to answer.

"ARGHH," echoed a voice in the distance. "See kid, told you they'd get him. He really neglected his training while he was a teacher, they got him quicker than I thought."  
"I presume 'they' means Hana and Suzushii?" Naruto inquired. "Indeed," Shinsuke answered with his ever-present grin.

Minusha wriggled out of Naruto's arms and rushed to her youngest brother. "Careful little lady," Shinsuke warned as he tearfully threw herself at him, "Your bro's got one hell of a concussion."  
"Anything more than the concussion?" Naruto asked as his younger siblings hugged one another in relief. "Yeah, a gash on the side of his face, and a cut to the back of his ankle, think the ligament may have been nicked too."

When Minusha finally let go of her youngest brother Naruto assessed her injuries properly, thankfully the only one was the cut on her arm. But he was worried by how quiet they both were, Minusha's gaze flickered between the two brothers while Rezano just stared blankly into the distance.

After a few minutes Suzushii and Hana returned, The Hyūga dragging the rather savaged looking corpse of Mizuki behind him. Sporting multiple nasty looking bite marks, blood still draining from the puncture wounds, the neck in particular was a mangled mess, and… why was a hand missing?

"Hana… Where did the hand go?" Naruto drolly asked. "Uhh, eheh. About that," she sheepishly laughed, her eyes flickering briefly to her right. Naruto followed them and there was one of her Ninken, the missing hand clamped in its jaws. "My over eagerness may have also manifested in my boys."  
"May have?" Naruto deadpanned.

Minusha stared at the corpse of her Nii-chan's former teacher. She may have cried at being hurt, she may have been scared not knowing what had happened to her brother. But looking at the ravaged body of Mizuki didn't fill her with revulsion, the bile didn't rise in her throat. Despite her young years she knew that wasn't the normal reaction of someone her age, she wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"Nii-chan, is being a Shinobi always this… messy?" Naruto evaluated his sister's expression, he found surprisingly that he couldn't read her very well, ' _She's got a good poker face._ ' "Yes, it can be," he honestly answered. "I see," was her neutral reply and Naruto couldn't help but worry, as all should for their younger siblings.

"Don't suppose any of you have a sealing scroll for the body?" Shinsuke snorted, "Do we look like your brother?" he joked. Naruto gave him a playful withering stare, "No I suppose not, he's a professional after all, I guess it's too much to ask of you, you bloody amateur," he riposted. "Not half bad," Shinsuke commended giving Naruto a wide grin and a patronising applause.

"Do Shinobi normally act like him?" Minusha again questioned. "No, Shinsuke's just an abnormality," Hana said. "HEY!" the discussed Shinobi whined, he did his best to sound genuinely offended. "We all know I'm the life and soul of this little troupe of ours."  
"All right Shinsuke, quit your whining and finish so we can leave, I imagine Hokage-sama and Kushina-sama will be rather anxious," Suzushii butted in before Shinsuke and Hana started trading barbs as he hefted the forbidden scroll over his shoulder. "Hmph," he pouted, "already finished."  
"Then we're done here, let's go," Naruto ordered.

Suzushii carried the scroll, Shinsuke got to drag the body, Hana carried Minusha and Rezano got a piggy-back from Naruto.

"Nii-san," Rezano quietly said. "Hmm," Naruto hummed. "Am-am I the Kyūbi?"  
"What? What sort of a question is that?" Naruto was legitimately baffled while his team all looked nervously at one another. "Am I the Kyūbi?" he repeated, his voice a little more forceful. "Rezano-kun, I've no idea what you're talking about."

Hana gave Suzushii a stern look and jerked her head towards the two brothers, the Hyūga sighed in resignation before chiming in. "Did you not hear this rumour Naruto?"  
"What rumour?" he said in exacerbation. "The rumour that Rezano-san is the Kyūbi Jinchuriki." Naruto was silent a few moments as he comprehended what he'd just heard. "Where in the world did this rumour come from?"  
"It cropped up around the time most of the Uchiha went to live with the Shinigami," Shinsuke replied. "Who started it?" Shinsuke shrugged his shoulders, "No idea, I doubt anyone does. I heard it from another Chūnin."  
"Same," Hana said. "I heard it from another member of my clan," Suzushii admitted. "Does everyone but me know this rumour?" Naruto complained. "Let's be honest Naruto, who in their right mind was going to tell you?" Hana said. "Hn," Naruto grunted, "Good point," he conceded.

"So you don't know Nii-san?"  
"I'm probably not the best person to ask, Otouto. What exactly did Mizuki say to you and why did you take the scroll?"

Naruto could feel Rezano tense up on his back but nevertheless he recounted the evening's events. While the fogginess in his brain had for the most part dissipated he still had to pause occasionally as his headache ebbed and flowed.

The more Naruto heard, the more he felt being mauled to death by three Ninken was an appropriate way for Mizuki to die. "I wondered why people kept giving me evil looks, why some civilians and Shinobi insulted me. Now I know and so do you. Guess I'll just have to get used to everyone hating me."  
"Now you know that's not true, Otouto. I know for a fact your main teacher Iruka-san doesn't, well apart from when you decided to paint the Hokage monument he was pretty upset that day."  
"How do you know? I thought Mizuki was someone I could trust…"

"Well, first let me ask you this. This rumour started when the Uchiha purge took place, did the way Mizuki acted around you or towards you change?" Naruto had hit upon a question that Rezano had asked himself months ago and already knew the answer to, "Yes," he quietly answered. "And how about Iruka-san?"

Rezano wondered that perhaps he was too transfixed on those who did change that he missed those who didn't because he racked his brain for those similar signs but he found none. "No," his voice even quieter this time, barely a whisper. "And that's what separates people like Mizuki and Iruka-san Otouto because Iruka-san lost both his parents on the night of Kyūbi attack too."  
"He did?" he glumly asked. "Yep, he wasn't that much older than you either. I was there when a Jōnin dropped him off just before the protective barrier went up, both his parents were on the other side, he never saw them alive again."

"How close were you Nii-san?"  
"Close enough, I was like half a mile away and its roars were still deafening. You should ask Tri-kun about this, he was right in front of it."  
"He was?!" he said in shock, by now everyone was listening with interest, none of the three Chūnin had caught any glimpses of the colossal orange furred demon and had only heard it off in the far distance.

"Yeah, from what Kaa-chan and Tou-san have said, he simply appeared out of nowhere. And while he doesn't talk about it I imagine there isn't another question in the world he wants an answer to more than 'How did I get here?'"

The rest of their journey back into the village was a quiet one. An ANBU team had discovered them and had since returned to the village to inform the Hokage.

"Do we take them to the Hospital first Naruto?" Suzushii asked. "No, we'll take them home first, I imagine Kaa-chan worked herself into a panic a while ago."

They didn't have to go that far. As the village gates came into view, they could make out a figure pacing back and forth. As soon as they caught sight of the returning Shinobi they shot towards them, long red hair streaming behind them.

"Kaa-chan!" Minusha cried, Hana hurriedly putting her down, the young girl soon lifted off the ground once more this time in Kushina's arms. The moment he came into range Naruto and by proxy Rezano found themselves yanked into the hug. "Stupid, stupid children," Kushina quietly cried. "Sorry, Kaa-chan," Rezano mumbled, desperately trying to make himself as small as possible to try and hide behind Naruto.

"What on earth happened to Mizuki?" Minato asked the Chūnin Trio, having obviously noticed Shinsuke dragging the body. The Hyūga quickly recovered from the surprise of being directing questioned by the Hokage. "From what Rezano-san's said, Mizuki tricked him and Minusha-san into stealing the Forbidden Scroll. After handing the scroll over he intended to kill them and then vanish into the night."

Suzushii stepped closer to Minato, "Rezano seems to have gotten it into his head that he's the Kyūbi. Mizuki took the rumour to heart and told him before trying to kill him." Minato winced, he had hoped that 'rumour' would simply fade away, _'Clearly I thought wrong_ ,' he bemoaned. If one person was willing to allow a rumour to drive them to kill a child then there would certainly be others.

He would have to take action to ensure the safety of his two youngest. ' _Will I finally have to hand out one of my kunai?'_ Minato had never handed someone one of his Hiraishin kunai, at least not for an extended period of time.

"How are they both?"  
"A few minor cuts and bruises on Minusha-san while Rezano-san had a laceration to an ankle ligament, a sizeable gash on his face and I suspect a hefty concussion," Shinsuke relayed. Minato nodded his understanding before addressing all three of them, "Thank you for tonight. I know you were thrown into this rather suddenly and that it's thrown out your mission schedule."

"Now I was going to inform you after you'd returned but I may as well tell you now. After looking over Naruto's proposal I've decided to accept it. Upon your return the four of you will officially be designated as a permanent team. The first permanent non-Genin team that aren't apart of ANBU," The look of delight was evident on their faces.

"I'll also be dispensing compensation equivalent to the sum of a B-Rank miss... Wait, where's his hand?" Hana blushed in embarrassment as Shinsuke burst out laughing.

* * *

The family sat in silence. They knew what needed to be said but no one knew quite how to start such a discussion. Minato and Kushina were desperate to alleviate their youngest son's worries over who he was but both were so nervous they'd make a hash of it and say the wrong thing or describe it poorly that neither were yet to say a single word.

Kushina was sat in the middle of the sofa, a protective arm over Rezano and Minusha either side of her. Minato lazily leaning back in an armchair, a decidedly tired look on his face, Naruto half sat/ half leaned on the arm of the Sofa. The young man couldn't start this conversation, because he simply didn't know enough about Jinchuriki's or Bijū's. There were only two people in the room who did but neither of them were saying anything.

Naruto found himself growing more and more frustrated as the silence dragged out and he was about to lay into his parents for their sudden bout of nerves when the front door opened. Naruto held station, ' _Perhaps there is another who can break this absurd silence._ '

The late arrival soon walked through the door, "Well this silence is pretty much what I expected," Tri remarked. Scanning the room, he could sense the nervousness permeating off if his entire family. "So… Who wants to walk me through exactly why ANBU headquarters in a matter of minutes devolved into a frenzied panic?"

Nothing.. "Anyone?"

"No one? No one's gonna talk me through why the forbidden scroll was stolen and why an Academy teacher is in the morgue with only one hand?"  
"I will," Minusha answered to the surprise of most present.

The next few minutes were filled with Minusha's naturally soft voice as she explained how Mizuki had tricked them both into stealing the Forbidden Scroll and his attempts to kill them. "Mizuki also said some things to Rezano nii-chan that I don't really understand."  
"Relating too?"  
"The Kyūbi," Naruto answered. "Ahh, so Rezano-kun now knows he's the Kyūbi Jinchuriki," he said without a hint of trepidation.

' _Actually Tri is perfect for this conversation, he just doesn't care if it's a sensitive matter or not, he'll have it regardless. Like any good ANBU,_ ' Naruto thought to himself. "So I am the Kyūbi then," Rezano sombrely said, his head dropping.

"Otouto, you weren't listening. I said you were the Kyūbi Jinchuriki, not the Kyūbi," he bluntly said. "What's the difference," was his bitter reply. "A great deal Baka. Do you have orange fur?"  
"No," he irritably answered. "Are you 100 foot tall?"  
"No."  
"Do you have nine tails?  
"No."  
"Then you ain't the Kyūbi are ya." His words were un-embellished but brimming with tack. Rezano didn't need coddling right now, it was too serious a matter.

"And looks can be deceiving," he shot back. Tri understood his meaning, he was referring to Mizuki and what Rezano thought he knew turning out to be false. "A fair point but does a prison become the prisoner?"  
"No it is just a prison, you're trivialising this."  
"Perhaps, but only in the sense that you are both the prison and the prison guard as well as holding the cell key."  
"Cell Key?"

"Uh huh," he nodded. "Stand up." Rezano was unsure what he was doing but he did as Tri asked. "Lift up your shirt." Now he was really confused but with a reassuring nod from Naruto he again did as he was asked. Tri approached him and with two chakra laced fingers and poked him in the stomach. "What are you…"

Rezano was silenced as a frighteningly complex seal appeared on his stomach. "This is your key. Tou-san wasn't just going to seal it away without taking some serious precautions. The Kyūbi's influence, it's power is kept in check and contained by this seal."

"Technically the seal is the lock, your willpower is the key," Minato added. "The seal is unlockable if you chose to. I wouldn't recommend that however, not yet anyway, you'd be forced into a battle of wills against it, you win you could permanently gain a portion of its power, you lose…" he trailed off.

"You die," Tri finished.

"So what does this all mean for me?"  
"Negatively speaking, it means you'll have to put up with a lot of crap from bigots who can't tell the difference between a gigantic orange fox and a pre-teen Genin. Congratulations on graduating by the way Otouto."  
"Thanks," he replied, with the first smile he'd had all evening before becoming serious again. "Am I the only Jinchuriki?"  
"No. There are nine Bijū and near enough nine Jinchuriki. The major Hidden villages tend to horde them as Shinobi super-weapon."

"Super-weapons?"  
"Yes, you need to remember the Bijū aren't regular creatures like Hana-chan's Ninken or Minusha-chan's pet Goldfish. If the old stories are true the Bijū are instead masses of pure chakra given consciousness, they are incredibly powerful beings. And Jinchuriki tend to inherit some of that power especially when the sealing takes place very young like yours."

"So I might inherit some of its power?"  
"We don't know for sure but we believe you already have," Kushina said, finally finding her voice. "I and Minato-kun have sizeable chakra reserves, Naruto-kun and Minusha-chan both have large reserves thanks mostly to this. Tri-kun's are larger still but yours dwarf his Rezano-kun."  
"Then there's your healing factor too," Naruto said, "But for all the ability and talent the 'Prodigal Three' have, your potential likely eclipses ours by some margin," he added.

"Have you ever met another like me?"  
"Yep," Tri nodded. "And so have you. Remember my and Naruto's Chūnin Exams, my second round opponent Fū-chan is a Jinchuriki."  
"Are all Jinchuriki treated badly?" he asked, remember some conversation Tri and Minato had had. Tri sighed, "I'm afraid so Otouto, Fū-chan is treated incredibly poorly in Takigakure despite Tou-sans efforts to make things better for her. Although perhaps its not all doom and gloom, I've heard some interesting things coming out of Kumogakure about their Jinchuriki."

"Like what?"  
"Kumo's rumoured two Jinchuriki, who were supposedly hated for years may not be anymore."  
"How come? Most don't let g off such animosity easily," Naruto questioned. Tri shrugged his shoulders, "No idea. But it means it ain't all hopeless for you Rezano-kun. You'll just have to channel that inner stubbornness of yours and make people see you as the young Shinobi you are."

Rezano's face seemed to have brightened and regained some of its colour. "Remember, you wear the Hitai-ate of Konoha now. You're expected to be professional in your duties so you can't kick someone's ass if they insult you." Rezano looked a little annoyed at that and was about to retort but Tri cut him off. "So if someone does insult you, tell me or Naruto and we'll kick their ass."

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

 **Well thirty chapters, thirty chapters and we've finally fucking reached Naruto: Episode 1. Took longer than I thought to reach the start of canon but we're here. Will probably be another thirty before we reach Shippuden at this rate.**

 **Anyway I wanted to inform you all that the pilot chapter for my second fic is currently being written. It revolves around Sasuke taking the decision to walk a path of his own and not the one manipulated by Itachi and how it changes the course of his life. Unlike in TPT, Sasuke will be the sole main character and will also follow Canon much closer.** **It's release schedule will also be far more erratic than TPT** **.**

 **So if that sounds like something that catches your interest keep an eye out. It'll be called 'Path of my Own'.**


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

* * *

 **Review Responses**

 **Chuck17** : Yeah, I will admit the time skip between Ch.29-30 is rather abrupt, it should be easier for readers to keep track off where we are in the timeline now we've reached actual canon but I'll keep it in mind in future.

Don't worry about Kurotsuchi, she won't be gone for long, the diplomatic events between Konoha and Iwa will be fairly regular. As for why the 'talk' didn't happen there are two reasons, Firstly I didn't want it to to either get buried under or detract away from the events of the Uchiha purge. Secondly I wanted to drag the development of their relationship out a bit instead of having it all in one go.

In hindsight not adding a little section explaining this in the previous chapter is a mistake on my part, something I'll rectify whenever I remaster chapter 30. I'll add a little section in the next chapter or two clearing up why the 'talk' didn't happen as well.

Also after giving it a try, I have to agree, it is somewhat difficult to type with crossed fingers. Thank you for your feedback, you're also the 50th review so double thank you!

 **Lorien Legacy** : Thank you friend! =D

* * *

Team 7

"Today is the day," he quietly said as he stood in front of his mirror pulling up his jacket zip, giving his outfit one last look over.

Black pants with light blood orange trim that cut off above the ankle, the rest of his exposed legs wrapped in bandages and black Sandals. A black undershirt was covered by a black and dark orange jacket, the Uzumaki swirl on the back. His Hitai-ate freshly polished the night before set on fabric of the same blood orange colour on his pants wrapped around his forehead.

His primary weapons, his two elongated chain kunai, both attached to either side of his hip. The leather straps that made up his chain anchors tightly wrapped around his wrists, bandages underneath to prevent chafing. Storage seals inked onto both upper forearms courtesy of Tri-nii-san.

"I'm ready, let's do this." Today was of course the day he would be assigned a Genin team, the first day of his Shinobi career. A hand came up and brushed lightly against the side of his face where just a few days earlier he'd sported a large, deep gash. Now, however, it was fully healed bar some slight red discolouration which gave it a sore appearance.

It had only been a week since the incident with Mizuki and he and Minusha had both spent it grounded. Given they'd stolen a highly guarded and classified scroll the punishment seemed rather light by comparison although Minusha was additionally grounded for the rest of the month. He technically was too, but he was permitted out to complete his Genin duties. It meant he'd spent the last week staring at the ceiling and not much else.

But all that spare time meant he'd had plenty opportunity to adapt to recent discoveries about himself. The normally hidden seal on his stomach that held within one of the most powerful forces in the known world. He had in that week come to terms with being the Kyūbi Jinchuriki and had resolved to rid the people of Konoha of their hate even if he didn't quite know how he was going to accomplish that.

Rezano spun on the spot and made his way downstairs, he was already running a little late so he needed to get a move on. In the Kitchen were Kushina, Minusha and Naruto. Minato had probably been gone nearly an hour by now while Tri had been gone for nearly four days, as had become normal for him, his assignments kept him absent for lengthy stints that could stretch into the weeks.

"Morning Rezano-kun," Kushina greeted as he emerged from the hallway into the Kitchen. "Morning Kaa-chan," he chirpily replied. A plate was placed in front of him at the table within moments of taking a seat. "Thanks Kaa-chan."

The food didn't last long, it never did and Rezano didn't stick around for long either. "Cya, I'm off!" he hurriedly and loudly declared much to the amusement of Naruto who'd years earlier learnt to slow down once in a while, unless it came to Ramen, in which case all bets were off. "Bye. Good luck and try to get along with your teammates," Kushina shouted after him in advisement as the front door opened. The red-haired woman slumped into the chair next to Minusha as it shut again.

"And two becomes three," she quietly said. While she was proud to see a third child of hers wearing the Konoha Hitai-ate she couldn't help but worry for her child's wellbeing, it was the way of every mother. But doubly so for those whose children become Shinobi. Rezano wasn't even a teenager yet but was now legally an adult and could soon find himself in a situation where it's kill or be killed. Under such circumstances, how could a mother not worry.

She tenderly placed an arm over his sole daughter's shoulders. Of course Minusha was next, she was already chomping at the bit to join the Academy despite still having another year to go until she was old enough to enrol. And just as all her older siblings were, she too would be well trained for her age when she finally did join.

"Don't worry so much Kaa-chan, he'll be fine," Naruto reassured her, "It'll be months before his teams even considered for a mission out of the village and he's hardly going to hurt himself doing D-Rank missions," the blonde chuckled.

"You know who's on his team, don't you?" Kushina asked, she'd overheard Naruto and Minato discussing the new batch of Genin teams a few days ago. "I know he's going to be on the same team as Itachi's Otouto but as for the third member I ain't gotta clue, Tou-san hadn't decided at the time. No idea who their sensei will be either," he replied between bites.

* * *

The classroom was a cacophony of noise, the sound of several conversations taking place simultaneously mixed together to form a garbled amalgamation of incoherent words. In the midst of which were a half dozen newly graduated Genin all of whom managed to remain quiet despite the excitement in the air.

Hyūga Hinata was one of them as the timid girl was pretty much quiet by default, Rezano next to her was also silent.

The third and fourth were the Nara twins, although for differing reasons. Meshikamaru didn't often speak unless she had something to say. Her brother Shikamaru simply because he was fast asleep at his desk, his head resting on his folding arms. The fifth, Aburame Shino followed the same thinking as Meshikamaru, 'Nothing to say, then say nothing.'

The final one was Uchiha Sasuke, he'd been a silent brooding type before the purges. Afterwards it just got worse and he'd seemed to kick his brooding up a notch.. or five. He almost never spoke, even when spoken to, he scowled almost constantly and he outright refused to work with others. If he couldn't do it on his own then he wouldn't do it, in his mind it really was as simple as that.

"Alright you lot, shut your traps," came a shout from the front. Lined up in front of the assembled Genin were the sensei for this year's graduating classes. Meshikamaru elbowing her brother awake as Iruka spoke.

"First of all, congratulations on graduating to the rank of Genin. As you are already aware you are here to be sorted into your Genin squads. A squad is comprised of three Genin who are led and instructed by an experienced Jōnin. You don't get to pick your teams, they're pre-chosen for you and no. There is no possibility to change them. Understood?" he asked the room, "Good," he replied after nobody spoke out, "Then we'll begin, after you're sorted into your teams you'll wait here until your Jōnin sensei arrives."

Out of all the Academy sensei assembled Iruka went first. "Alright then, me first. First up Team 8 will be comprised of Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Hyūga Hinata." Hinata was visibly deflated to have not been placed on the same team as Rezano, unknown to her the young boy felt somewhat similar. "Your Jōnin sensei will be Yūhi Kurenai."

"Next is Team 10, comprised of Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji and Nara Shikamaru." Ino audible groaned at being teamed with two of the laziest people in class, "Troublesome blonde," Shikamaru said under his breath, his sister snorting in amusement. "Your Jōnin sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Again Meshikamaru snorted although her lazy sibling didn't understand why.

"Finally from me, Team 7 will be comprised of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Namikaze Rezano and Nara Meshikamaru." Sasuke didn't make a sound, Rezano internally groaned while it was Meshikamaru's turn to whisper, "Troublesome," under her breath. Something her sibling took great delight in as he snickered away. "Your Jōnin sensei will be Hatake Kakashi," Iruka finished. Again, Meshikamaru groaned, Shikamaru's muffled laughter continuing unabated.

Meshikamaru couldn't believe her poor fortune. She was fine about working with Rezano but she did not like the idea of trying to get any semblance of teamwork out of the Uchiha and she already knew thanks to her father's position as Jōnin commander that Kakashi was even lazier than Asuma was. Something she had no doubt Shikamaru would take great delight in reminding her of on a consistent basis.

Rezano mulled over Iruka-sensei's announcement. 'A _nybody but Sasuke and I'd of been happy. Seems I'm not the one who seems annoyed by that either,´_ he thought. He'd noticed Meshikamaru's reaction since she was only sat a row in front of him and he highly doubted she was referring to him.

As for Kakashi as his sensei, he was conflicted. Kakashi was renowned for being one of the strongest Shinobi in the village but both his brothers had pointed out that he was incredibly lazy and was utterly shocking when it came to time-keeping. The third member of their newly founded trio just continued to stare out the window ignoring everything around him, especially Ino's futile attempts to drag a conversation out of him.

And that's how the three of them continued until the first Jōnin arrived to assume responsibility of their new teams.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. Just remember what Nii-san taught you and you'll do great," Rezano said to Hinata in reassurance as Kurenai arrived to lead her and her new teammates away. "Thank you, Rezano-kun," she replied in her diminutive voice.

More Jōnin arrived and more Genin left and before long it was only Team 7 left in a now empty classroom.

"I knew this would happen," Rezano sighed as he put his legs up on the desk. "What do you mean?" Meshikamaru asked him as she turned to face him. "Our sensei, while a first-class Ninja is one of the laziest people I've ever known. His time-keeping is abysmal too so don't expect him here for at least another two or three hours."

Meshikamaru winced, "I'd heard he was lazy but I didn't know about the time-keeping," she replied, her voice carrying a glint of frustration. "How'd you know about him?" she asked. "Kakashi-sensei's one of my Tou-san's former Genin so I've known him most of my life, not to mention my brothers have worked with him. How about you?"  
"My Tou-san's the Jōnin commander so I've overheard him talking about or to Kakashi-sensei before."  
"Ah," Rezano said.

She looked around the room that was utterly empty save for the black and orange-clad Rezano and the still staring out the window misery that was Sasuke. "Now what…" she muttered more to herself than them. "Well, what are you good at?" She cocked an eyebrow in his direction, "What I mean is, what is your Shinobi skillset?" he elaborated. "Oh," she said in realisation, "I specialise in my family's Ninjutsu, and medium distance engagement whether its Ninjutsu or something else."

"Family Ninjutsu.. that's where you manipulate shadows right?"  
"It is. I can control peoples movements through their shadows. Whatever physical actions I take they take too."  
"So you raise an arm, they raise theirs?"  
"Yep, you got it."  
"That does sound pretty cool," he freely admitted, the side of a finger rubbing against his chin as he thought of the possibilities available through such a technique.

"What about you?" Meshikamaru asked in return. "I focus primarily on a medium-range Taijutsu/ Kinjutsu mix and hard-hitting Ninjutsu."  
"Medium-range Taijutsu/ Kinjutsu? How? That's almost a contradiction."

To answer her question Rezano activated the chain storage seal around his right wrist, pulled some chain out and attached it to one of the modified kunai held in his other hand and threw it at the wall. He reeled it back in at the last moment to prevent it hitting the wall. "Ok, I also freely admit that's pretty cool," she said as the chain re-entered the seal bringing the kunai back to Rezano. "Not to mention unique, I've never seen anything like that."

"Yeah, I wanted something that was uniquely mine and not something my older brothers had which was pretty difficult because they're both really good at almost everything."  
"You want to get out from under your families shadow?" she asked, catching his meaning. "Yes," he said nodding his head. "That's understandable, both your parents are clan heads and your brothers are considered two of the finest of their generation, that's a lot to live up to," she said in quasi-understanding. "It's a lot to be compared to as well," Rezano muttered.

All clan heirs were inevitably compared to their parents or prodigal elder siblings, it was inescapable. It was similar for her and Shikamaru, despite the inherent laziness of their father, Nara Shikaku was regarded as one of the finest minds Konoha had ever produced and had left many wondering whether his twin children would be up to the same standards.

"Well, that's killed a few minutes. What next," Rezano said mirthfully as they sought additional ways of passing the time.

* * *

Kakashi slid open the thin wooden door and poked his head through the gap, he was expecting his three new Genin to be present and they were. *Bonk* ' _What the.. Is that a board eraser?_ ' he wondered as it landed on the floor after bouncing off the top of his head. His sole visible eye narrowed as it zoned in on two amazed yet amused Genin as the cloud of chalk dust drifted through the air around his head, blending in almost perfectly with his silver/ grey hair.

Both Rezano and Meshikamaru were astonished a prank so unbelievably simple actually worked. They'd both watched as the eraser descended towards Kakashi's head fully expecting him to either catch it, dodge it, something, anything but actually get hit by it. They both unconsciously and unknowingly came to the same conclusion, ' _He let that hit it. No way he didn't know it was there, right?_ ' Regardless both couldn't help draw some amusement from it. Even Sasuke's eyesight had been drawn from the window in mild interest.

"Well," Kakashi said casually, "My first thoughts are, I'm not impressed," he coldly said. "Roof, five minutes," and he vanished. For their own reasons none of the three of them took his semi-threatening words seriously, they either knew Kakashi too well or simply didn't care.

But nonetheless five minutes later, or three hours late depending on your point of view the newly formed Team 7 were sat in a semi-circle in front of their Jōnin sensei as he leaned against a railing, little orange book in hand. "Alright then you three, let's introduce ourselves, ladies first," he said, not lifting his eyes from his page.

"Uh.. Care to elaborate sensei," she replied. "Your name, hobbies, likes, dislikes, dreams etc. Stuff like that," he explained. "Why don't you go first sensei," Rezano said. "Fine," Kakashi said with a sigh as he was forced to close his ever-present book.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. There are many things I like and some things I hate but I don't really feel like telling you about any of them. Dreams for the future.. Eh, never given it any thought. As for hobbies, I have some."

Rezano and Meshikamaru sweatdropped, Sasuke just continued to stare off into the distance, his hands laced together in front of his face. "Your turn," Kakashi said to his sole female Genin. She gave him a brief hard stare before speaking.

"My name is Nara Meshikamaru, my likes include board games and reading, my hates are laziness..," she delivered those last four words forcefully, something that Kakashi couldn't miss. "Some of my hobbies I already mentioned but I also enjoy hunting. As for my dreams, I want the people of this village and beyond to acknowledge there is more to the Nara clan than overly-intelligent, lazy males."

"Blondie, you're next."  
"My name is Uzumaki Namikaze Rezano. My likes include Ramen and the occasional prank. My dislikes, I-I guess I don't really have any. My main hobbies are training with my chain kunai and eating new flavours of Ramen. My dreams are to make everyone realise I am my own person, become a renowned Shinobi and escape the endless comparisons to my Nii-san's."

"And that just leaves you, Sasuke."

The young Uchiha didn't even unclasp his hands as he raised his eyes to meet Kakashi's gaze. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have no real likes and I hate many things. My hobbies are less hobbies and more things I must do and my dreams are not dreams but inevitabilities because I will ensure they become reality," he darkly finished. Everyone eyed him cautiously, suspiciously in Kakashi's case.

' _Well, well. What an interesting trio I've got this time around._ ' He set his gaze on his young Kunoichi. ' _The brilliance of a Nara mind without the attitude holding it back. Perhaps not the outright strongest of her class but maybe the most outright talented._ ' There was an old proverb in Konoha that seemed somewhat appropriate regarding his new Genin, 'Fear a motivated Nara.'

Meshikamaru was dressed in a manner befitting a Shinobi, none of that 'colourful outfits that sacrificed strength, protection and utility for appearance' rubbish that had wormed its way into the Academy in recent years.

Her green/ grey full-length pants had large pockets to the outside of either thigh and a shuriken holster strapped around her lower right leg. The belt around her waist had a large pouch behind her right hip and a smoke bomb pouch on the front left. Her dull green shirt was pretty much standard issue, plain with no identifying marker, 'Perhaps l _eft it empty to leave room for a Chūnin jacket?'_ Kakashi thought. She had a second shuriken holster around her left bicep/ triceps while her entire right arm was covered in mesh, her Hitai-ate tied around the same arm.

' _Rezano. Talented most certainly, but up to now has not shown the talent that set his brothers apart but Tsunade-sama deems him to have equal levels of potential and she's rarely wrong so there's more to be dragged out of him. Always seeking to have his name built upon his own achievements and not held aloft by those of his family. An otherwise fine mindset to have but one that might mean he takes unnecessary risks in an effort to justify himself and endanger both himself and his teammates._ '

' _And finally, the most difficult member of this team, Sasuke. Talented? Definitely but extraordinarily selfish and utterly self-centered. A loner by choice, something that isn't helped by Itachi's almost permanent absence on missions and Mikoto-sama's recent health troubles. Right now he is the antithesis of what a Konoha Shinobi should be._ '

To those in the know, it was fairly obvious why two of the Genin in front of him were assigned to Kakashi, it was so that he could keep an eye on them. Sasuke was now considered a flight risk and Rezano was the Kyūbi Jinchuriki. Meshikamaru was thrown in to fill out the team but Kakashi was already beginning to wonder whether Minato had inadvertently made a brilliant decision there.

After considering how the three of them may be individually and how they may act around one another, Kakashi's mind drifted towards how they might impact him. Three hard-headed idealists. Three hard-working Genin who would commit hours a day to their training in their efforts to grow. In other words for the extremely lazy Kakashi, his worst nightmare.

"Ok then team. That's it for today. I expect you at training ground 3 tomorrow morning at dawn. Oh, and a bit of advice, don't eat anything beforehand." He was about to Shunshin away when Meshikamaru's stern voice pinned him in place. "Wait, what? Why tomorrow?" she asked accusingly, she had her suspicions.

"I wanted to let you rest before your task tomorrow," he calmly explained, his voice a little too sweet to the ear. "Oh no you don't," she shouted back. "We've done nothing today but wait around for you to show up. How could we possibly need rest? And in what way would we be better prepared by tomorrow. No we're doing this today."

Kakashi mentally groaned, he knew, he just knew this was going to become a regular occurrence. "Alright fine, " he conceded, "Three O'clock this afternoon."  
"Agr.." she had been about to agree when she remembers Rezano's words from earlier.

' _His time-keeping is abysmal too so don't expect him here for at least another two to three hours_.'

"No, midday," she countered. Kakashi winced behind his mask, he'd been backed into a corner. "Fine," he relented, "Training Ground 3, midday." He didn't give her a chance to say another word, he was gone in a puff of smoke the instant he'd finished talking.

Rezano couldn't help the light-hearted chuckle that escaped his throat. She gave him a glare, "You put him in his place beautifully. We're going to get along just fine," he said, his words loosening the tension as she joined in laughing at their sensei's expense.

As their collective laughter died down Meshikamaru stood, "Well that's several hours for lunch since he won't be there before 3 pm, coming?"  
"Sure. What about you Sasuke?" The Uchiha snorted, "Like I'd spend a second more than is necessary with you losers." They both looked at each other and started laughing once more as they walked away. "Whatever spoilsport, can't say we didn't ask."

* * *

They both arrived at Training Ground 3 at 2:50 pm. They might not have been the first there but they certainly weren't the last.

"Take it you've been here since midday?" Strangely enough Sasuke didn't answer, at least not with words because his scowl deepened. "Like I said, three hours late to pretty much everything," Rezano smirked.

Meshikamaru sat down with her back against one of the three wooden posts that were for some reason in the middle of a large grassy clearing, "So what do you think we'll be doing?"  
"No idea, but it did seem a bit odd that he told us to go to a training ground."  
"Did your older brothers not tell you anything?" They both missed the twitch of annoyance from Sasuke. "Tri nii-san isn't around all that much lately, too busy with missions. But I did ask Naruto nii-san what the first day was like. He was weirdly evasive and just said he didn't want to spoil the surprise."  
"Huh, that does seem weird. Maybe he was told not to say anything?" Meshikamaru wondered.

The minutes passed by, the occasional line of conversation passed between two of the Genin and then Kakashi finally showed up.

"I make that dead on 3 O'clock Sensei, that's only three hours late." Rezano remarked looking at the small sports watch attached to one of his chain anchors. Kakashi gave them his trademark eye smile, "I'm sorry guys I got lost on the road of life."  
"….That's it? ….That's your excuse?" Meshikamaru asked incredulously. "Yep," was his cheerful reply, his young Genin sighing in defeat.

"And now that we're all here, you're going to take your Genin test," he nonchalantly informed them. "Genin test?" Rezano asked. "That's right. Did you really think that being able to do a few E-Rank Jutsu was enough to qualify you as a Shinobi?"  
"Well, now that you mention it…" Meshikamaru conceded. "Yep, this is the real test to see if you're able and ready to become Konoha Shinobi."

Kakashi held up two small bells each tied to a piece of string. "The three of you have until midnight to get these bells off of me. Any of you get one, you pass."  
"But there are only two bells Sensei."  
"Correct Rezano. That means at least one of you will be going back to the Academy." The three of them tensed up, Kakashi now had their full attention, Meshikamaru's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Come at me with the intent to kill. You'll never hope to get a bell otherwise. You can begin… Now." He immediately left via Shunshin.

"Urghh. Don't suppose either of you are any good at tracking are you?" she asked her two teammates. Sasuke just scoffed as he made off into the treeline, his intent to track Kakashi down on his own.

"Well I can't say I'm surprised," Rezano said as the young Uchiha vanished from sight. "He's going to get his ass kicked isn't he?"  
"Probably," she deadpanned.

 **Two Hours Later**

"Ready?" she whispered to her blonde teammate. He gave her a thumbs up. It had taken them a little time to track down Kakashi, they were somewhat annoyed to find that he was just leaning up against a tree reading his book, the two bells hung from his pouch. They had yet to spot Sasuke since he'd gone off on his own.

They'd slowly circled around him laying an array of traps. The plan was to force him into the long list of traps that would trigger one after the other with the aim of keeping him constantly reacting in the hope that one would eventually get him.

Kakashi giggled as he read a particularly raunchy passage in his book. He knew they were both there but he was interested to see what they'd come up with so he let them finish.

He heard what sounded like someone clicking their fingers. He snapped his book shut as a large white Fūma Shuriken burst from a bush heading straight for him. ' _Why is it white?_ ' he asked himself in bewilderment. It was only about three feet off the ground so he jumped over it then the second trap triggered. A flurry of a half dozen kunai shot down from a tree canopy to his right, the third trap right behind it. A pair of explosive tag clad kunai behind him.

' _They're either trying to force me to move forward or left. The Fūma from the front, six kunai from the right and the two explosive tags from behind. But the kunai were delayed by a second, why?'_ He got his answer as a pair of flash bombs and a single smoke bomb dropped into his vision from above. "When did they get them up there?" He legitimately didn't know.

The flash bombs detonated and Kakashi was a moment too late in shutting his eye, the smoke bomb going off a couple moments later. After the flash subsided he was forced to lift up his Hitai-ate revealing the Sharingan in his left eye socket as the six kunai entered the smoke. Kakashi pulled one of his own and was able to block or deflect them all away. It meant however he barely had any time to react to the explosive tags which exploded the moment they reached the smoke.

Meshikamaru moved into position as a smouldering log was blown out of the smoke cloud. As planned Kakashi reappeared directly above her about ten feet in the air. The Jōnin quickly realised he was still in the air and falling towards the ground. Meshikamaru jumped, her hand lined up with the two bells.

He was beginning to turn in mid-air to face her but the sound of something whistling through the air made him notice Rezano's chain kunai swinging into view from either side. He knew immediately they'd forced him into a difficult choice, either block the kunai and lose the bells or defend the bells and get a pair of several inch deep cuts in him.

Unluckily for them Kakashi had a third option. " **Fūton: Kamikaze** ," (Wind Release: Divine Wind). Kakashi released a gale of wind that blew both Meshikamaru and the two chain kunai away. The young girl hitting the ground hard. "Damn it," she said through gritted teeth as the air was knocked out of her. Kakashi landed next to her, "Not too bad," he said before he was replaced by a puff of smoke.

"Gah, so close," she complained, her hand had been within a foot of the bells.

 **Another hour later**

"Argh! Damn it!" Rezano yelled as he was launched through a tree branch, Kakashi escaping yet another intricate trap that Meshikamaru had devised. This time the tip of one of his chain kunai was inches away from cutting one of the strings the bells were attached to. His teammate sighed as she landed next to him.

"What is it about this exercise," she said to herself in frustration. "What d-do you mean?" Rezano asked as he caught his breath. "There's something about this 'Genin test' that doesn't sit right with me and I can't quite put my finger on it."  
"Huh? There are two bells so two of us pass, right?"  
"That's just it, why only two bells? What was the first lesson we ever had in the Academy?" She answered for him, "It was about teamwork and how important 'the Team' is in Konoha."

Rezano couldn't fault her logic, there seemed to be a contradiction in their Genin test. "Y-you're right, something does seem off. In that case why only two bells? New Genin teams are just going to argue over who gets the bells."

Meshikamaru hit herself on the forehead with the palm of her hand, "Oh you baka Meshikamaru, that's it!"  
"Huh?" he said in ignorance. "There's only two bells to make us decide what's more important, the team as a whole or ourselves."  
"Even if the three of us worked together how are we supposed to get a single bell of off Kakashi-sensei?"  
"I don't think we're supposed to. What I think is the bells are a distraction, I think they're supposed to make us forget about teamwork."  
"So if one or two Genin got a bell but ignored their third teammate.."  
"Then they'd all fail," she finished for him.

"We need to find Sasuke," Rezano said. "Agreed." They were both gone in a flash. Neither of them had noticed Kakashi hadn't gone far. He'd only moved to a tree above them.

"Well well, you figured it out. Now can you persuade Sasuke that it's true? You've gotta find where I left him first," Kakashi snickered as he leaned back against the tree, his orange book re-emerging from his pouch.

"Perhaps Tri was right about her making those watch lists."

 **Sometime Later**

The two Genin emerged into the clearing where this 'test' had started. "There you are," Meshikamaru called out to a very irate and very gagged Sasuke. He was tied to one of the wooden posts, a rope wrapped around his arms and chest, Ninja wire around his ankles and a twisted cloth shoved in his mouth. He also sported a few scuff marks on his arms and face.

"Bloody finally," Rezano muttered. They'd just wasted nearly an hour and a half searching for their Uchiha only to find him in the most obvious of places, which of course was the last place they'd ever thought to look.

Sasuke thrashed around against his bindings as he spotted them approaching. "How long have you been stuck here?" Of course he didn't answer, he instead gave her the best menacing glare he could manage which Meshikamaru just laughed off. "Do you want me to take the gag out?"  
"No, she replied after a moment's thought, "Not just yet. First, he's going to listen."

She dropped to one knee in front of him, "You want to pass this test? Don't you Sasuke." His black eyes narrowed as he slowly, very slowly nodded. "Good. Now I'm going to explain to you the purpose of this 'test'. Then I'm going to cut your binding and after that you are. Going. To be. A. Team. Player. Do you understand?" Meshikamaru's voice, normally calm and modulated had become unrelenting and incredibly serious. Again a very slow nod of the head.

"Excellent. Now do you remember the very first lesson we had at the Academy? It was about teamwork wasn't it?" A third very slow nod. "Wonderful, it's nice to see you using that brain of yours for once," she quipped. Sasuke growled so she flicked him on the forehead with her middle finger, "Shush," she chastised and he was silent again.

"Now take that very first lesson and compare it to this 'test'." Sasuke begrudgingly did so and very quickly spotted the problem, furrowing his eyebrows as he did. "You've realised it, haven't you? How this test is near enough the opposite of that lesson. Why drill into us the importance of teamwork if only to cast it aside the moment we graduate?"

' _Unless they intended to test us,_ ' Sasuke completed in his head. It annoyed him, he hated working with others, they only slowed him down. But if the Nara girl was right then he'd be sent back to the Academy if he didn't work with them. ' _There are always obstacles to overcome, this is but one of them. I will work with these losers, for now. Because for now, they are of use to me._ '

"Now that I've explained it all to you, I'm going to untie you and you will play along! Keep in mind I'm already stood in your shadow," she revealed. Sasuke's eyes shot downwards to the ground for a split second, long enough to see she was. ' _Great.. I have to play along now.'_

"You don't be a team player then I'll tie you back up again and we'll all go back to the Academy together." A fourth slow nod. Rezano flicked his wrist, one of his chain kunai cleaved through the ropes holding Sasuke to the post. He quickly pulled a kunai of his own, cut the wire around his ankles, yanked the gag out of his mouth and threw it as far as he could.

"Turn out your pockets."  
"Excuse me? Sasuke challenged. "Show me what equipment you have. I need to know what I've got to work with," she elaborated. He eyed her with suspicion, working with them was one thing but sharing his equipment was a step too far. "She's really good at making plans and laying traps but she needs to know what she has to work with," Rezano explained with a sigh.

Sasuke contemplated this for a few moments before relenting. Meshikamaru was slightly surprised at how little he was carrying. A dozen kunai, three dozen shuriken were fine but only four explosive tags, two smoke bombs and no flash-bangs, but it was more than they'd had a few minutes ago. "Ok, let's move. The longer we take the harder this will get.

* * *

Kakashi couldn't believe it, he was having to put some effort into avoiding them now. Today had been just full of little surprises. Turns out Meshikamaru and Rezano could work together superbly. Then they'd figured out the purpose of Kakashi's test, then they'd managed to persuade Sasuke to actually team up with them. And now they'd spent most of the last few hours getting closer and closer to those bells.

That last revelation proved to be one of great frustration for Kakashi, he had been about to start his favourite chapter in his book and their constant attacks meant he had to wait. ' _Only five minutes left. Then I can read my book in peace,_ ' was the one thought that dominated his mind as he ducked under another long slash of Rezano's.

He had to give credit where it was due, those chain kunai were difficult to dodge when used at full speed. Add to that having to keep an eye on his shadow and for Sasuke and Kakashi had to admit, they were a dangerous trio.

The darkness was thrown back as another spew of flame from Sasuke shot towards the Copycat Ninja. He was rather grateful for his Sharingan under these circumstances. The sun had set hours ago so every Katon Jutsu, every flash bomb cast shadows which provided Meshikamaru with an opportunity that his red eye was able to keep better track off.

" **Doton: Doryūheki**." A mud wall with a dog head detailing shot from the ground, the flames struck the wall and the wall held strong. He wasn't given a seconds respite as the chain kunai returned. He ducked, leaned left then rolled right. They kept coming, ' _Hang on, how many are there?_ ' There seemed to be four or five chains flying across his vision at once. _'Oh,_ ' he realised as he saw more than one Rezano, ' _Damn Shadow clones._ '

Kakashi was really on the defensive now as Sasuke reappeared in the middle of the fray. Kakashi blocked a punch, twisted his arm behind his back and kicked the boy away. Sasuke recovered from his stumble and spun around to confront Kakashi again. As he spun Kakashi used Shunshin to get behind him, he lashed out, sweeping the Uchiha's legs out from under him.

As Sasuke fell it revealed a Fūma shuriken previously hidden by his body heading for Kakashi. Kakashi dodged it easily enough as it flew over Sasuke. But what Kakashi witnessed next was something he had never seen before. One of the Rezano's threw their chain kunai and managed to get it through the hole in the centre of the oversized shuriken. And with a pull changed its trajectory so it looped back towards Kakashi.

Kakashi dodged a second time, then a third and then a fourth. The damn thing kept coming back. He threw a pair of shuriken at the chain itself only for them to bounce off. "Damn," he grunted. "Not going to work sensei, chakra metal core in all the chainrings. ' _Kami's sake, nothing short of a proper chakra metal blade or a supercharged explosive tag will break those chains. Neither of which I have,_ ' he thought as he dodged once more.

" **Suiton: Suijinheki**." Kakashi caught them off guard as he used the defensive Suiton Jutsu in an offensive manner firing the wall of water at the Rezano constantly re-directing the shuriken. The liquid mass hit its mark launching what turned out to be the real Rezano into a tree, water flying everywhere.

The seconds ticked by as the midnight deadline drew closer. And the Genin of Team 7 drew closer and closer to the bells tied to his pouch. At one point the tips of Sasuke's fingers tantalisingly caressing the metal of a bell, mere millimetres more might have been enough to wrest it from Kakashi.

The last throw of the dice saw Rezano spew out Shadow clones that tried to dogpile Kakashi, many of them ended up dispelling as Sasuke's fireballs intended for their sensei instead struck them. Kakashi was forced to draw on more and more of his ability. Even Meshikamaru abandoned all pretence of strategy and patience and waded into the struggle attempting to use the gluttony of clones to disguise her approach.

Kakashi was now utterly surrounded. Seeing no other option his hands came together. Ox, Hare, Monkey, his left hand gripped his right wrist. The effect was immediate, the electrical energy crackling in his right hand. All the clones, including those in the air backed off immediately forming a tight circle a few feet away from Kakashi.

"That's the first mistake you've made today," Kakashi called out. He didn't give them time to figure out his meaning as he slammed his hand into the ground with a shout, " **Raikiri** ," (Lightning Cutter). The power held in his hand discharged in an instant, the water from his earlier Jutsu serving as the perfect conductor, the bodies of his Genin stiffening as the electrical charge flowed through them, the clones all immediately going up in smoke.

As the charge faded all three of them collapsed and for a time lost consciousness.

* * *

Rezano came to, as his vision stabilised he could make out his fellow Genin either side of him and what he assumed was their sensei ahead of them. As the blur cleared he could make out a small orange blob held in a hand. ' _Yep, that's Kakashi-sensei._ '

"Ah, there you are Rezano," the silver-haired Jōnin chirped. "Now that you're awake we can finish up." The book once again snapped shut, ' _Well at least I got to read a bit of it before they started waking up._ '

"Team 7. You… pass," he said rather abruptly.

All three of them were covered in cuts and scrapes, their clothing torn and tattered and each looked utterly baffled. "What, just like that?"  
"Yep. This test, commonly called the bell test is carried out for a specific purpose, a purpose that you Meshikamaru deciphered. While it is a proper test of whether you meet the standards expected of a Konoha Genin. It is first and foremost a true test to see if you are willing to work together, to disregard the fact that there are three of you and only two bells. You did work together so you pass."

"How many teams fail this test?" Meshikamaru asked. "Well I've been doing this for like four years… five years.. I forget. But you three are the first team I've passed. Now before you all go home I have a question or two."

"Meshikamaru, earlier your Fūma shuriken was white, why?"  
"A distraction."  
"Even if it only lasted for a fraction of a second?"  
"Yes."

"Ok. How did you get those flash bombs and smoke bombs above me?"  
"While you were busy watching the Fūma Shuriken." Kakashi couldn't help it, he chuckled. "How did I end up directly above you in mid-air?"  
"I found your Kawarimi log. You'd be surprised how conspicuous it in in a forest considering it's a pre-chopped log. I threw it above me when you were shrouded in the smoke. I guaranteed you'd use Kawarimi through the two Explosive tags."

Now Kakashi was something he wasn't often, impressed. She had in the space of a few seconds almost cornered him. She'd drawn his attention and through it drawn him yet deeper into her trap, even using his means of escape against him. Now he was in no doubt, Tri definitely wasn't exaggerating about her.

"Okay, we're done here today. Since it's so late we'll do our first mission tomorrow afternoon. So I'll see you all outside the mission centre at 1."  
"10 am!" Meshikamaru hurriedly shouted.

* * *

End Chapter

* * *

Omake Entry three:

Class Contributions: Part 1 – Tri

 **Three months after the Uchiha Purge**

"Ok Class, does anyone have a final question for Tri-san before the end of the lesson?" Iruka asked his students. A few hands went up but Iruka chose one who hadn't yet asked, "Meshikamaru-san, go ahead."  
"Thank you sensei." She replied as she stood and stared down the recently promoted Jōnin. "My question requires some explanation so bear with me." She took a breath and began.

"Back during your fight with Jiraiya-sama you released something I'd never felt before. Since then I've researched into exactly what that horrible feeling was and have since discovered it is called killing intent. I've read several scrolls and books on it and every single one had a different interpretation of what exactly killing intent is. So my question is this; What is killing intent?"

Tri couldn't help the smallest of grins that curved his lips upwards. Until now the questions had been rather mundane and what you would expect from Academy students but this was something else.

"Ah, killing intent. A strange yet deceptively useful ability if you can figure out how to use it, which tends to be the difficult part for most. There are two elements to using killing intent, the first is exuding your chakra like this."

Tri pulled on his chakra, circulating it around his body then letting it flow out of his Tenketsu points, it quickly flooded the classroom, his black and red hair dancing slightly as if a breeze passed through the room. Iruka and the students could feel it around them as if the air was suddenly much heavier than before."

"But of course this is lacking the actual 'killing intent', after all I'm only letting my chakra leave my body. To get that is more difficult because it requires you to have a proper understanding of both death and fear. You in a sense allow your negative emotions, your anger, animosity to imbue your chakra before it leaves your body, like so."

Tri drew on some of his memories, allowing the anger and frustration they brought him to mix with his chakra. He toned it down enormously but it was still enough to make some of the students shuffle uncomfortably in their seats.

"As you can feel, the emotion is carried along with it. And when there is enough of it you can begin drawing out the emotions of others in response. Those with really strong Killing intent can make others see visions of their own death as if it were a Genjutsu, although I have never tried it I believe mine to be strong enough to do this. There are even stories of killing intent so strong that people commit suicide out of pure fear."

"But this all doesn't answer your question. I've described what Killing Intent is in a practical sense whereas you were asking in a philosophical sense which is where opinions greatly differ as you've discovered through your reading. But my answer would be that Killing Intent is an incredibly potent physical manifestation of raw emotion."  
"Thank you, Tri-san," Meshikamaru said with a slight bow as she retook her seat.

"Ok then class that will be all for today, see you tomorrow," Iruka called out to them. The room emptied in short order soon leaving only Tri and Iruka. "You have an interesting class Iruka-san, some very bright minds," Tri commented as the scarred Chūnin wiped the blackboard down. "Yes, there are some great talents in there."  
"I would hope so, half of them are clan heirs or from prominent clans," he chuckled, "But you have one in particular."  
"Nara Meshikamaru?"

"You have noticed it too then. I will admit Iruka-san, I came here to today not just to answer your classes questions but to get a measure of her. I can see now why she is on every division watch list going. Cipher, Torture and Intelligence, Logistics, hell even every sub-division of ANBU are keeping an eye on her. Watching the scramble to secure her services after her promotion to Chūnin is going to be highly amusing."

Iruka was slightly confused by one portion of his comment. "How would you know she's on the ANBU watch lists?" Tri didn't answer, only grinned. "That would be telling Iruka-san," he said as he jumped out the window.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **Golden-absol** : I did? *Looks through chapter*. Oh I did, nice spot and thanks.

 **Chuck17** : Another fifty sounds great since the large majority of the first fifty are positive. As for chapters focused on Rezano, there shouldn't be tooo many, but it's slightly difficult to escape one cropping up especially now we're into the Canon timeline since he is Canon Naruto, just with a better upbringing. But the Prodigal Three will be in and around his major story elements. Him and Tri will butt heads big time ideologically in the Wave Arc for example.

Another week, another milestone. 300 Followers! Thank you all.

* * *

The Joint Mission

"Good, now I can explain why you're all here," Minato said as Naruto shut the door behind him. Turning around the blonde Jōnin was somewhat surprised to see his team were present along with two masked ANBU. "As you may have been able to gather, the six of you are all going on a mission."

The unmasked four looked on in intrigue, "An odd number Hokage-sama," Naruto remarked, his voice immediately taking a more serious tone. "Yes, that's because the other six that comprise your total number aren't here."  
"So.. Where are they?"  
"They should have left Iwagakure a few hours ago."  
"Wait, you mean it's happening?" Asked Naruto, his tone of voice shifting again, this time to excited.

Minato stifled a small chuckle, "Yes, the efforts of you and Kurotsuchi-san have finally made both villages relent a little and agree to a joint mission. I'll cut right to the chase, the mission has two primary objectives. The first is the Iwa objective, you are to retrieve the ' **Iwa-Tsue** ' (Rock-Staff), a relic of the first Tsuchikage recently stolen by an Iwa traitor."

"Your half of the mission has two objectives. The first is to recover the ' **Raijin no Ken** ' (Sword of the Thunder God), the second is to kill the man currently wielding it, Rokushō Aoi." Suzushii furrowed his eyebrows, "That name is familiar Hokage-sama," the Hyūga said. One of the ANBU held out a book in front of them, the page shown was a Bingo Book entry for Rokushō Aoi.

"Yeah, I recognise him," his voice had deepened and carried a darker tone. "Suzushii?" The Hyūga took a breath to calm himself. "I'm fine Hana. he used to be in the same class as me at the Academy is all."  
"Several years ago Aoi managed to deceive another Konoha Shinobi into stealing the blade. After taking the sword from them, he defected to Amegakure. Intelligence suggests this Iwa nin intends to do the same with Aoi's aid" Minato explained.

"So where are we going exactly Hokage-sama?" Shinsuke asked. "Intelligence believes this Iwa traitor is slowly making their way west to the border between Na no Kuni (Land of vegetables) and Kaze no Kuni (Land of Wind). We believe he will pass through Kaze no Kuni and make his way to Amegakure."  
"That's a long way," Naruto noted, "Suna won't want us going through their territory with Iwa shinobi tagging along. Definitely ain't going through Amegakure, Kusagakure no Sato (Land of Grass) aren't fond of either us or Iwa, so that leaves Tsuchi no Kuni as our only option."

"Correctly summarized Naruto-kun, you will be going through Tsuchi no Kuni. The Iwa Shinobi will be meeting you at the border then escorting you to Iwagakure itself. The Tsuchikage made an additional request, the ANBU present are to inform him that his request has been granted and display evidence to prove it."  
"Speaking of which, if I may Hokage-sama, why ANBU?" Hana inquired. "To show that we value this mission, it'd be hard to build trust if I sent a bunch of newly promoted Chūnin or something. Besides they won't be wearing their masks for this mission, if you would," Minato finished, directing them to remove their masks.

The first to remove theirs sported a mask designed to resemble a weasel, Naruto wasn't surprised to find Itachi behind it. The second wore a mask black in colour with a nose and mouth stylized to resemble a beak. The removal of their masks resulted in a small mirthful chuckle from Shinsuke, "The old teams back together, eh."  
"Well you did say you wanted to build trust," Naruto said analytically. "And there isn't much more I can do in that regard than sending you, Itachi-san and Tri-kun. As for the missions chain of command, they're both the highest ranked Shinobi among the six of you, Itachi-san will be squad leader with Tri-kun as his second."

The four of them nodded in understanding, they all knew that ANBU outranked Jōnin and they assumed Itachi outranked Tri through seniority while Naruto knew the real reason was that Itachi was simply an outright higher rank at ANBU Captain.

"But to elaborate further, Itachi-san's primary objective is the recovery of the Raijin no Ken while Tri-kun's is the killing of Rokushō Aoi."  
"Understood, Hokage-sama. So, when do we leave?"  
"Well right now. We don't want to keep our Iwa friends waiting," Minato answered.  
"Aww," Naruto moaned. Everyone looked at him in bewilderment. "Something wrong?" Hana asked but Shinsuke delayed any potential answer, "Are you pouting?" he humorously questioned. "N-no.." Naruto weakly answered, "By Kami, you are pouting, that's absolutely hilarious," the Chūnin breaking out into fits of giggles. "What is the matter?" Hana repeated.

"I, I wanted to see the look on Rezano's face when he's told what exactly a D-Rank mission entails," he lamely answered, a flush of embarrassment crossing his face. There was a brief moment of silence, then Shinsuke's laughter doubled as he struggled to remain standing, Hana face-palmed while the rest chuckled away at the blondes expense.

* * *

"Does everyone has sufficient provisions?" Itachi asked the five Shinobi in front of him. The five of them affirmed that they did and so within five minutes of leaving the Hokage's office they departed the village.

The first hour passed by without incident, jumping from tree to tree. They set a mild pace, or at least it was a mild pace as far as the two ANBU were concerned. "Naruto," Tri called over, "Are your team capable of holding a faster pace?" The blonde looked over his shoulder at his three team members, each nodded. "Yeah we can go faster," he called back. "80%?" One ANBU suggested to the other. "Agreed," Itachi answered, immediately picking up the pace, the rest picking up to match.

His two former Genin teammates knew it was exactly a 60% speed increase and to Naruto it was a greater pace increase than he was expecting but he and his Chūnin kept up without complaint.

An hour that passed in silence ended. "Yo, Naruto, what do you reckon they meant by 80%?" Shinsuke asked as he pulled up next to him. "I'm not sure, 80% of the usual speed an ANBU squad travels at maybe," he answered slightly unsure. "Correct in one, Naruto, " Itachi called from ahead of them.

Everyone could sense an impending conversation so they all sub-consciously shrank their formation, all of them drawing closer to one another. "So we'd still need to go another 1/5th faster to meet the bare minimum for you guys?" he asked in concern. "Also correct but don't worry, we won't be moving to that pace because if we did it'd probably run you all ragged."

"How long can you run that pace?" Suzushii asked in interest. "All ANBU are expected to able to keep that pace for ten hours without pause," Tri answered, "They're also expected to perform 180% for a minimum of two hours." Shinsuke winced, "I'm not sure I can even picture going that fast for that long."

Without so much as moving his fingers a clone appeared next to Tri and immediately began leaving them behind. "That's what it looks like," he added with a slight grin. Within thirty seconds the clone was out of sight. "Yeah.. I think I'll skip applying for ANBU." His comment drew some amusement from those around him. "It's ok Shinsuke, they aren't going to force you to join," Naruto snickered.

"Is there more to the requirements? It can't be just running." Tri and Itachi glanced at one another, the Uchiha nodded and Tri answered. "Much more Suzushii-san. You need a minimum of ten successful A-Rank missions, be able to complete a complex and classified chakra exercise, pass a written exam. Then comes the survival test, you need to single-handedly evade a full ANBU squad in the wilderness for ninety minutes."  
"You get a head-start right? Surely."  
"Yes you do, Shinsuke-san. You get 45 seconds."

"And how many pass that?" Hana said. "Thirty percent pass rate for first-time attempts. I passed mine first time around," Itachi said. ' _What was that voice? If I had to guess I'd say he sounded smug,_ ' Naruto thought. "Yeah yeah, alright mister I passed first time in an almost record-setting 127 minutes," Tri said sourly. "I take it you didn't then?" Hana diplomatically asked. "No, I did not," he replied not looking at any of them. "82 minutes I believe it was."  
"I get the feeling he didn't willing tell you that."  
"No Naruto, he didn't. But then who do you think caught him," Itachi revealed, a rare grin on his face.

"So is that the final test? Do you become an ANBU if you pass that?"  
"Yes," they both lied. Known only to them was the classified test.

 **Hours Later**

"I'm dead, leave me behind in the morning, tell my Kaa-san I love her," Shinsuke groaned as he fell on his back, his face haggard and his breathing rapid. "Oh shut up and quit play-acting, your fine," Hana snapped back, lightly kicking him in the leg.

They'd been moving non-stop since leaving the village and nearly thirteen hours later they were deep into Takigakure no Sato (Land of Waterfalls). "We'll leave an hour before sunrise, we should reach the border before the sun comes up," Itachi told all of them.

"Waa, that's nowhere near long enough," Shinsuke moped. "Oh quit your griping," Naruto playfully chastised. "Me? Griping?," Shinsuke snorted, "do you hear that? That sound on the wind." Naruto could sense a poor joke on the horizon. "Yes! I'm sure of it, it's the sound of Hypocrisy." He was right, it was a bad joke but Shinsuke wasn't done. "Because you, Naruto," Shinsuke declared while pointing an accusing finger at him, "Are still pouting!"

"N-no I'm not," he retorted. He really hoped his voice didn't come across as weakly as he thought it did. In reality he was pretty gutted about missing Rezano's debut mission but he was never going to say that here, not when it handed the arguments win to Shinsuke.

* * *

 **Meanwhile back in Konoha**

"Hey Kakashi," Genma said as he sat down in front of the masked Jōnin. "Yo Genma," he replied not looking up from his book. He rolled the senbon from one side of his mouth to the other as he stared the son of the White Fang.

"Was there something you wanted to talk about?" Again Kakashi didn't look up from his page. "You had your first mission with your new team today didn't you?"  
"I did."  
"..And?"  
"And what?" Genma silently sighed, "How'd it go?" At times getting a conversation out of Kakashi was akin to getting blood from a stone. "It was fine." Another sigh.

"What mission did you take?"  
"De-weeding a farmers field," he answered as he turned a page. "And how did your Genin take it?" he asked with a wry grin. "Mixed overall. I expected Sasuke and Rezano to react badly and they did so, whining and complaining the whole way through but Meshikamaru just took it in her stride.

The grin slipped from Genma's face. ' _Trust Kakashi to utterly downplay it. Not that I'd know much about it. Damned Prodigal Three._ ' He sighed again, as proud as he was of his former students, he couldn't help but wish they'd been a bit more like 'normal' Genin.

"Only you could downplay what is supposed to be the funniest moment for a Jōnin," he quietly said. "Huh? You say something Genma?"  
*Sigh*

* * *

 **Back in Takigakure**

"So how are we handling the meeting with our Iwa counterparts tomorrow?" Suzushii asked everyone. "Just leave the talking to either Naruto or Itachi," Tri said, they all looked at him. "What? It's what I'll be doing," he defended himself, "I tend to get involved when the verbal jabs start flying so I intend on keeping my mouth shut."

"And there's a good Segue," Naruto muttered. "A caution for you all, It's possible that some of the Iwa shinobi will attempt to wind you up to get a reaction out of you. I know it's not going to be much of a problem for you Suzushii, Itachi will be fine and I got used to it last time. But you three," he said pointing at Tri, Hana and Shinsuke, "Behave," he warned.

Naruto and his team slipped into various discussions with Shinsuke and Hana continuing their never-ending battle to one-up the other. It left Tri and Itachi on their own.

"I haven't seen you for a while before today Tri, how have you been?"  
"In a word, busy. It's been hectic the last two months on sub-level 4." Itachi nodded, he knew that Sub-level was code for the sub-divisions of ANBU, with each given a different number to identify them. This was despite Team Ro technically not being part of any sub-division since they answered only to the Hokage.

Each sub-level specialised in a particular field. He knew sub-level 1 was general purpose which technically weren't specialists but general all-rounders. Sub-level 2 was Intelligence and 3 was combat. Sub-level 4, however, was a mystery.

Itachi knew pretty much nothing about them, there were incredibly few who did. Almost all of the missions undertaken by them were classified. And you only classified a mission if you didn't want the village to be associated with it, and with one major Shinobi field still unaccounted for Itachi could make an educated guess as to their line of work.

"The Hokage brought me up to speed on 'that' before everyone else arrived this morning. I must admit I'm somewhat surprised you're being so cautious."  
"Yeah, it's not ideal. I'd hoped to have my intelligence pipeline in place and operational by now but given the circumstances I'm taking no chances, the slightest slip up will compromise my assets." Itachi mulled it over, it made sense, it was always a bad idea to rush such intelligence operations, especially integral elements. They'd likely never be presented another opportunity.

"It shouldn't be too much longer now. Getting access to the information we're looking for was the easy part, getting it out without being discovered is the difficult part. I've had to set up a series of proxies and dead-ends to help shield it all. Another month or two and it'll be ready."

Itachi nodded his head a few times, nothing more needed to be said on the matter especially given the sensitive nature of it. "How's your eye?" Tri's hand instinctively went to the implanted left eye. "Still some five months off it replenishing, vision is 85 feet before it blurs. I fear another three uses will extinguish it's light entirely."  
"It is a powerful ability Tri."  
"Of course, but we'd hoped to get more than six uses from it."  
"Well let's be honest, the second time you didn't need to use it." Tri snorted, "Daimyō-sama deserves a completely loyal court who'll selflessly help him run Hi no Kuni. So I gave him one."

Both fell silent for a few moments before Tri spoke.

"How about you? You and your team gotten yourselves into any trouble recently?"

Although they'd both realised it years earlier, both right there were reminded of how much they weren't conversationalists. Back when they were Genin, Genma or Naruto did the talking. They did similar in the Jūnishi. And as ANBU? Well, you never needed to talk much as an ANBU.

"Nah, not really. Not been much to do of late. The bad boys and girls in the elemental nations have been strangely quiet in recent months. Although it doesn't seem to have slowed you much."  
"There will always be a long list for sub-division 4 to work through," he replied glumly. "I wasn't supposed to be a full-time ANBU you now, but this is the first mission is several months where I haven't worn a mask."  
"So why did you join ANBU to begin with?"  
"The Hokage asked me to. I don't particularly enjoy donning the mask. It contradicts why I became a Shinobi to begin with."

Never before had Itachi seen his friend display such reservations about his duties. Tri had always set his personal misgivings aside rather like how he did. "So why did you agree to join at all?"  
"Because it is what was required of me, the needs of the village come first."

Again the silence returned. A minute or two passed with them just listening to the others talk. They couldn't help the feeling of isolation, as if they were missing out on other things in life. Things that Naruto and his team got to partake in.

"How's your Kaa-san?" Tri sombrely asked. Itachi's shoulders visibly slumped and his head dropped a little. "No improvement?" The Uchiha shook his head and Tri sighed sadly for his friend, briefly placing a supportive hand on his shoulder. Uchiha Mikoto had been ill for months now and there didn't seem to be any sign she would improve in the near future.

"Tri," Naruto interrupted calling over. "Yeah?" he called back. "How long had you been back in the village before we left for this mission?" The question caught him a little of guard. "Err, three maybe four hours. Why?"  
"No reason, just trying to quit Shinsuke's whinging about being overworked."  
"Okay.."

Tri turned back to find Itachi had stood," I'm gonna go to bed," his voice sounded so despondent, Tri felt for him but there wasn't anything he could do to help, that inability to help ate away at him leaving him with a slight feeling of frustration.

* * *

 **The Following Morning**

"Trust them to be late and keep us waiting," a female voice grumbled. "Oh quit your yapping," another snapped back, "it's only been five minutes."

The Leaf Shinobi they were expecting were now a few minutes overdue, but Kurotsuchi understood that it was a fair distance from Konoha, even if she was the only one not blinded to this by wilful ignorance. So being a little late was perfectly understandable.

"Now, now Kurotsuchi-chan, no need to be short with your squad," a towering male nin with a square face and a rotund nose said to her. "Tsch, whatever Tou-san," she shot back. Technically Kurotsuchi was in charge of the six Iwa Shinobi present, everyone knew, however, that her father Akatsuchi was really the one who'd call the shots. This mission was far too serious a matter to not have a senior Shinobi on the team.

The potential to bicker further was cut short by a fourth voice, the sensor of their group. "They're here," he said as he sensed a group of chakra signatures enter the periphery of his range. "Can you glean anything from them?" Kitsuchi asked. The sensor closed his eyes and concentrated on the nin quickly approaching them.

"Six nin, three animals, Ninken I believe. Three of the chakra signatures are strong, I recognise one of them as the son of the Yondaime."  
"Alright then, make yourselves look presentable and be ready to leave immediately," Kurotsuchi barked. The assembled ninja quickly scrambled around packing their things and tidying up a little.

A few minutes later they were all lined up and ready as their Konoha counterparts broke through the sparse treeline, coming to a stop in front of them.

The assembled Shinobi eyed one another warily. Kitsuchi looked over each of them in turn. The first he didn't think much of, the second was obviously an Inuzuka given the three Ninken stood by her side. The third by the way he dressed and his eye colour identified him as a Hyūga. The fourth was Naruto who he'd briefly met when he'd visited Iwagakure a few months prior.

But it was the last two that gave him pause. While the Sharingan was an intimidating sight, Kitsuchi had come face to face with the Kekkai Genkai during the third Shinobi world war, it wasn't that which concerned him most. It was what they were wearing, it was plain, almost minimalist in design, one had a tantō strapped to the back. And while there were no identifying features, to him their outfits screamed ANBU.

"Apologies for the slight delay, we were held up by an overly nosy Taki border patrol," Itachi explained. He didn't receive a reply, just silence as the stare down continued. "Shall we get going? There is a pair of traitors to catch?"  
"Indeed but first we return to Iwagakure. I trust Tsuchikage-sama's additional request has been granted?" Kurotsuchi said as she snapped to. "It has and we brought the evidence to prove so."

"Then let's go, all these trees are beginning to grate on my eyes," Kitsuchi said, his subtle/ not so subtle jibe wasn't lost on any of them. Somehow unseen by everyone Naruto managed to sneak a wink to his pink-eyed counterpart.

* * *

 **Iwagakure – Tsuchikage's office**

"I'm glad to see you were all able to make your way here without killing one another, that bodes well I suppose," the shortest of the Kage said to the twelve Shinobi before him. "You have been briefed on the purpose and goals of this joint mission?" he asked the foreign ninja. "Hai Tsuchikage-dono," Itachi succinctly answered.

"And what of my additional request?"  
"Hokage-sama has agreed to your request Tsuchikage-dono." Itachi turned to his left, "Tri." The Uzumaki stepped forward, as he did he reached into the pouch over his tailbone. The Iwa Shinobi immediately tensed up, one or two's hands sub-consciously slipping to the hilts of weapons.

Ōnoki was wearing a similar outfit to the one Tri remembered him wearing in Kumogakure over six years prior. A Green coat with yellow trim split into four strips with a red collar. Underneath which was a traditional Iwa nin outfit, a light green flak jacket, dark green pants with mesh visible underneath them.

Ōnoki was sizing up the Uzumaki at the same time. The flak jacket was Konoha standard issue but dark grey in colour with a black sleeveless shirt underneath. The full-length pants and sandals were that same shade of grey. The only burst of colour on him was the violet sash around his waist. He could just about make out the top of a mesh shirt around his neck. His entire right arm was covered in wrapping that was in turn covered in Kanji and seal designs.

The left arm, however, only had them around his upper arm. A quick look at Itachi confirmed he also had wrappings around his upper left arm. Overall the Uchiha's outfit was very similar bar colour changes and the presence of a blade over his shoulder . Ōnoki came to the same conclusion as his son had hours before. ' _ANBU, have to be. Konoha have the tattoo on their left arm. Well, well Minato, you are taking this seriously after all._ '

The relieved exhales were audible as Tri withdrew a small book and not a weapon. He opened it and flicked towards the back, spinning it around he presented it to Ōnoki. The Sandaime Tsuchikage picking the book out of his hands and quickly scanned through a few details on the page in front of him.

 **Name** : Deidara  
 **Designation** : Missing-Nin – S-Rank  
 **Actions to be taken** : Capture on sight  
 **Bounty** : 15 million Ryo – Iwagakure

"Excellent," he said returning the book to him. "I trust this is the latest publication?"  
"It becomes available for distribution in the next few days," he said while nodding. "Good and speaking of recent publications, have you seen the latest Kirigakure Bounty book Tri-san?"  
"I must confess I have not Tsuchikage-dono. I presume I'm still in it?"  
"Indeed you are, they even added another 10% to your bounty," he said with a grin. "Really?" Tri asked sceptically, "Why? I haven't even done anything this time."  
"I can only assume they really want that sword back."

"If it meets with your approval Tsuchikage-sama. I would ask that we are allowed to leave immediately," Kurotsuchi interrupted. The aged Shinobi turned his gaze on his sole granddaughter. "Yes I believe that would be best but before you go I wish for a word with you in private." The other Iwa shinobi bowed and departed along with their leaf counterparts.

Grandfather and granddaughter watched them leave and only turned to face each other again after the door had closed. "Ojisan?" she queried. "There is something I've been meaning to ask you for a while. Don't worry you aren't in trouble but for whatever reason I kept putting it off. Why did you push so hard for these diplomatic exchanges with Konoha?"

They stared at one another but her answer was immediate. "I know the elders don't approve and you're highly sceptical. After all you were all alive to hear the reports that the Yondaime Hokage had single-handedly defeated a thousand Shinobi but I wasn't."

"And after watching the Yondaime's two sons and the Uchiha at the Chūnin exams years ago I came to a realisation that if we and Konoha were to go to war again, the same would likely happen. Konoha is seemingly unrivalled in its ability to produce S-Rank Shinobi which I believe those three will be before long. So I took the decision to try to avert history ever repeating itself and a war I don't think we could ever win."

Ōnoki could tell by her tone of voice and the determined look in her eyes that she wasn't lying although he was unaware that she only told him half her reasons. "Will that be all Ojisan?" He nodded, sinking into his chair as she shut the door behind her.

Ōnoki had been putting off thoughts of who would replace him for years, there had never been someone who he felt could assume the role of Kage successfully but now perhaps there was. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling, ' _She's still years away from being ready but perhaps, just perhaps,_ ' he thought as a tiny smile appeared on his face.

* * *

End Chapter


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

* * *

 **Review Responses** :

 **HedyBear** : Oh and I have as well *sigh* I dread to think how many chapters have that mistake. Somewhat irked I missed them, thank you for bringing it to my attention and I glad you're enjoying it.

 **Nexather** : Yeah I'll admit some of the time-skips are, Ch.29-30 especially so. So I've added a 500-600 words long scene for Naruto and Kurotsuchi towards the end of Ch.29 to explain that. And I've also added a transition part at the start of Ch.30, some 800 words long or so to help smooth the transition and explain some of what happened during the time-skip. Hopefully, it answers the questions you had, apologies for the confusion.

* * *

The search begins

The dozen Shinobi made their way south-west. The plan was to cut through Tori no Kuni (Land of Birds) to reach Na no Kuni (Land of Vegetables). The Iwa nin lead the way, as one might expect given they were travelling through their own backyard.

Konoha Shinobi always looked slightly out of place anywhere there weren't trees to jump between, as was the case right now. Western Tsuchi no Kuni was a region almost completely devoid of the great wooden flora.

Iwa teams would run through the narrow rock-strewn passages through the mountains. Many of their leaf counterparts instead chose to jump from rock to rock to maintain a semblance of familiarity.

And Kurotsuchi couldn't help the sense of amusement at their actions, the Uchiha was the only one immune to the need to jump between things. She could understand why they did it though because it's what's familiar. If they had instead been travelling through Hi no Kuni, she and her team would likely run across the ground instead of through the trees because that is what's familiar to them.

A few quick glances around gave her the impression that some of her fellow Iwa ninja found it equally amusing judging by the small smirks of some faces but she ignored them and instead focused on the half-dozen Konoha nin she'd be working within the coming days.

She knew little about the trio that comprised Naruto's team. Their sparse previous meetings and what Naruto had himself told her amounted to the sum total of her knowledge of the three. With nothing to occupy her thoughts, she moved onto the mysterious brother.

Through her many chats with Naruto via their linked scrolls she'd learnt a fair amount about the enigmatic teenager. She knew he was a highly capable Shinobi, everyone present did. Her father had taken her aside momentarily after her brief discussion with her Ojisan and warned her of his suspicions regarding Tri and Itachi's ties to Konoha's ANBU.

She bored her eyes into the back of his head, hoping to gain a deeper understanding, his black and red hair whipping about thanks to a combination of the breeze and their speed of movement. She had been intrigued when Ojisan mentioned he was in the Kirigakure Bingo Book. Admittedly she rarely looked through her own villages Bingo Book never mind those of other villages.

Perhaps she could ask him later on when they'd stop for the night? ' _Although, he isn't the most approachable of people_.' she noted, and that was before she took the Sharingan into account. She wouldn't lie, the three Tomoe Kekkai Genkai was intimidating, the way it span, the way it seemed to look right through you, she suppressed the slight shudder that washed over her.

She didn't like that feeling, so she moved onto the final one, she turned her attention to Itachi, a questionable decision she told herself because the full-blooded Uchiha possessed two of those unnerving eyes. And if Tri was enigmatic then Itachi was in a class of his own. Tri at least displayed emotion, that was more than could be said for Itachi.

He truly was an enigma. The neutral facial expression, the neutral tone of voice, he gave nothing away, she couldn't get a read on him. She'd concluded that he was leading the Konoha group since he'd been the one to speak first when they'd first met up that morning. And in the near ten hours since, she'd paid close attention with her eyes and ears and she had learned.. nothing.

Naruto and his team conversed fairly regularly, Tri might occasionally contribute a sentence or two but the stoic Itachi hadn't said a word since they'd departed Iwagakure. She couldn't even think of any questions she might ask him so she moved on to the final Konoha member and the only one she did know properly.

The blonde-haired, two sword-wielding, giant Hawk summoning, Ramen loving dummy she considered a close friend. Ever the positive influence, he never failed to help her 'turn that frown upside down' as he called it, a phrase that never failed to make her groan at its childishness.

Perhaps that's what made him so endearing. Whenever she felt down or frustrated he'd always be on hand whether with written Kanji or spoken words to help alleviate her troubles and return her to a more cheerful mood, something she appreciated immensely.

She tried to imagine what her life might be like without that constant positive reinforcement and what she imagined didn't appeal to her. He'd become a part of her life, a distant yet also close part.

Her mind drifted to the 'talk that never was'. Well not exactly, right now it was the 'talk they'd not been able to bloody have', it certainly wasn't from a lack of trying, it was just that something always seemed to get in the way. The first time was utterly overshadowed by the Uchiha purge and they'd agreed to postpone it until a later date.

Their next opportunity came a few months later during the second diplomatic exchange between the two villages, this time held in Iwagakure. Naruto had managed to talk his way onto the team that travelled. But throughout the entire duration of their stay, Kurotsuchi was never left alone, her Tou-san in particular constantly kept a watchful eye on her.

It left her feeling paranoid, did he suspect something? Her concerns had been unnecessary however. He'd later admitted after the Konoha delegations departure that he simply didn't trust the visiting Leaf officials and given her close involvement had refused to let her out of his sight. While she believed his actions misguided she nevertheless understood his reasoning.

His decision making she knew was governed or at least influenced by his past experiences. She hadn't even been born when the third Shinobi World war had ended, her Tou-san, on the other hand, had fought and likely killed Konoha Shinobi during it. So when the son of the most vilified man in Iwa history strolled in as if nothing ever happened, it was understandable that some might find trust difficult to come by even if Naruto was just as innocent on the matter, he had yet to be born either.

And of course who was only feet away and would remain so for the entirety of this mission.. ' _Guess we won't get the opportunity at the third time of asking either_ ,' she mentally sighed. The next diplomatic meeting was likely still a few months away, its location had yet to be nailed down but if they were swapping villages each meeting as she envisioned it would then Konoha would be next, she hoped it would be Konoha next. Regardless of location, it would mean they'd be approaching the one year mark just waiting to have a single face to face conversation.

Then there were the contents of that conversation, she'd had all this time, months upon months to think things through, plan out what exactly she was going to say. And what did she have to show for it?

Nothing... Zilch. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd worded something in her mind only to then analytically pick it apart before ultimately throwing it out. It meant her frustrations level rose, frustrations that Naruto would help placate, it made for a bizarre cycle of emotions.

It had dawned on her a few months ago, however, that Naruto was actually the closest friend she had. Because of who her family was and the rigid mentalities that permeated throughout Iwagakure's society, it meant she had trouble making friends whilst growing up. Naruto, also a member of a Kage family could sympathise with her, he understood. But differing mindsets meant his social life hadn't been suffocated to anywhere near the extent of hers.

And the difference was abundantly clear. On this very mission, Kurotsuchi was with her Tou-san and four Shinobi she'd never worked with before and whose names she didn't yet know. Naruto meanwhile was with three Shinobi he was permanently teamed with, friends he'd worked with for years and in addition were his two former Genin Teammates, the camaraderie shone through.

"Kurotsuchi-san," she heard a quiet voice in her head, despite hearing it she chose to ignore it.

' _I do at least have one friend on this mission. I can't remember the last time that happened... Has it ever happened?_ '

"Kurotsuchi-san." There was that voice again, it sounded a little louder this time.

' _I must have surely_?' she wondered but try as she might she couldn't think of a single example, her former Genin teammates she never considered friends. That revelation actually saddened her a little. Her fellow Iwa nin weren't comrades but instead just colleagues.

"Kurotsuchi-san." Her name was called for a third time and this time she realised it wasn't a voice in her head, someone was trying to speak to her.

Her consciousness tumbled out of the depths of her mind and began paying attention to what was happening around her. Everyone was looking at her and Itachi was running next to her, she tried to fight down an embarrassed blush. "Kurotsuchi-san," Itachi asked for the fourth time, throughout his four attempts, his tone of voice was unchanged. "Yes Itachi, sorry. I was miles away."

"It's alright. I was wondering how we intended to track down our quarry? You know the terrain far better than I."

"I had intended to reach Na no Kuni and ask around the villages for any possible sightings. But in hindsight that won't be fast enough unless we get super lucky. But in a turn of good-fortune Itachi-san, you appear to have brought a smorgasbord of tracking talent." Itachi turned his head towards Hana and Suzushii. She raised a good point Konoha was well known for its tracking skills, the Aburame, Inuzuka and Hyūga clans in particular.

But Suzushii's eyes could only see so far and the noses of Hana's Ninken while powerful couldn't collectively smell far enough. "True Kurotsuchi-san but I fear neither would be able to search an entire country in a day or two. There is, however, an alternative."

Tri just knew Itachi was referring to him, "Please don't Itachi."  
"Tri, this isn't a debate," he sternly replied.

"Fine," he grumbled, knowing better than to argue as he shunshined next to Naruto and ran his thumb over the Tsuba (Crossguard) of one of his blades. "Hey!" Naruto whined. "Oh shut up, I didn't leave a drop of blood on it," he retorted as he rubbed his thumbs together, smearing blood across both.

Naruto continued grumbling as Tri ran through a series of hand-seals, Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram. Instead of stopping and placing his hand to the ground his hands clamped onto the opposite upper forearm. " **Kuchiyose no Jutsu."** Intricate array designs shot up his arms and his shoulders briefly glowed. A small cloud of smoke accompanied by the appropriate 'poof' sound appeared above either shoulder. As they were travelling at speed the smoke cleared quickly revealing two black-birds.

The two creatures had not envisioned themselves needing to suddenly hold on following an unexpected summoning. Their reaction? To dig their short but sharp talons into Tri's shoulders. His face grimaced as he suppressed the growl building in his throat, his flak-jacket the only thing preventing them from drawing blood.

Kurotsuchi recognised the telltale signs of a summoning contract but she was expecting him to verbally converse with his summons but not a single word was spoken.

' **Tri… this had better be good. We're still busy carrying out your previous instructions,'** Muninn mentally communicated to him, the animal sounded rather annoyed. ' _Oh shut it, I'm well aware. I did, however, warn you that this may happen,_ ' he irritably shot back.

To everyone else though there was only silence, "Uh Itachi?" Kurotsuchi asked. "Tri's summons lack the appropriate vocal chords to verbally communicate so they do so mentally instead."  
"So they speak into the others mind?" she asked with uncertainty. "Pretty much. He summoned them because they're Avian spymasters. Being able to communicate with birds and listen in on the thoughts of humans makes them superb for intelligence work."

"So, right now he's telling them to find our targets?" Itachi nodded, "Ye.. or at least he will be. Right now he's probably having an argument," he said with a laugh. Again his facial expression didn't change and it weirded her out, you were supposed to grin or smile when you laughed. "An argument?" she asked.

"Huh-uh, Tri's summons are incredibly flippant. They'll do what he asks of them but not before questioning absolutely everything and generally driving him mad. Honestly, it can be pretty entertaining to watch him get progressively more annoyed."

"That's.."  
"Different?" he finished for her with another laugh, "Honestly, I think they do it just to aggravate him now."

Just as he'd said, Tri did look more and more frustrated as the minutes ticked by. Inexplicably one of the black feathered Ravens swivelled its head to stare at her. She held its gaze, its small beady black eyes staring into her radiant pink. "Intriguing," Itachi muttered. "Why?" she asked turning her eyes away from the bird.

"Muninn and Huginn will communicate with Tri without issue but only him. They're incredibly haughty, won't speak to those they deem and I quote 'unworthwhile'. If they do need to communicate with others then they use Tri as a proxy."  
"So how did he end up signing the contract at all?" He shrugged his shoulders, "No idea, he won't tell me the specifics, only that they chose him."

' _ **Is that the girl your sibling is so enamoured with?**_ ' Huginn suddenly asked. Tri internally groaned, he was so close to getting them to tracking down their targets. ' _What?_ '  
' _ **The lady with the pink eyes, that's the one Naruto had you design the scrolls for, yes?**_ '  
' _Wh.. Yes, that's Kurotsuchi. Now can we ge.._ '  
' _ **I can see why. She's a beauty**_.'  
' _Ok, that's just weird._ _You. Are. A. Bird!_ ' Tri bluntly growled. ' _ **Yeah, so is she**_ **.'** [ **1** ]  
' _Oh for Kami's sake,_ ' he winced. ' _Please, please can you just get started_.'  
' _ **We'd be happy to Tri, as soon as you show us whom we're looking for**_ ,' Muninn retorted.

A small growl of irritation slipped from his lips as he withdrew his Bingo Book. "Kurotsuchi-san, do you have a picture of this Dorobou?"[ **2** ]

"Sure," she replied. As she moved closer to him a hand pulled a small square picture from one of the pouches around her waist. She handed it to him before slipping back into formation. Tri held up the picture and Bingo Book entry in front of the Ravens who etched the faces into their minds.

' **Then we shall begin** ,' Muninn quickly uttered as he and his brother unfurled their wings and took flight. Tri sighed as the birds shrank to small black dots in the distance.

* * *

 **That Night**

Kurotsuchi was leaned back against a moderately comfortable rock, there were no jagged edges that dug into her back and the surface was relatively smooth. To keep everyone happy a Konoha and Leaf nin were both currently on watch at opposite ends of the camp, some twenty feet. She was fairly certain she was on watch with Shinsuke.

It was a quiet night with sparse cloud cover overhead, the three-quarter moon casting an eerie white glow on everything. She could hear a quiet commotion below her, her spot was some ten feet above the Konoha group. Peering down, the moonlight illuminating the bodies below she could make out black and red hair rolling from side to side.

'Bad dream?' she wondered as she silently dropped down next to him. She reached her hand out. The moment her fingers touched his shoulder he tensed, his eyes shot open and a kunai appeared in his hand. It took him a brief moment to realise it was Kurotsuchi kneeling next to him. "Sorry Kurotsuchi-san," he uttered lowing the sharp implement.

"Bad dream?" she asked, he nodded. "Want to talk about it?" she asked slightly too quickly. Both were silent for a few moments that seemed to drag out for far longer, she was about to apologise when he spoke. "Sure, it couldn't hurt."

He propped himself up against one of the innumerable boulders that comprised this part of the world and began to recite what he'd experienced.

He described how images which years previously were a garbled mess but now were a little clearer. He could make out the overall shape of things but the colours still mixed together distorting any possible detail. But he could make out what he thought was the shape of a person.

The sound which before was utterly scrambled had improved a little, the crests and troughs of volume less extreme but still incoherent. But still, he couldn't distinguish whether these people, if that's indeed what they were, were crying, speaking or screaming.

Then as they always had the colours bled away, bright white light overwhelming it all. Then he woke with Kurotsuchi looking down on him.

"You say you've had these dreams for years?" she asked him. "Yes, since I was like nine or ten. And they're still as confusing now as they were then."  
"So you've no idea what they might mean?" He shook his head, "I can't distinguish anything in them so I wouldn't even know where to begin."

They both fell quiet, "Thank you for telling me," she said breaking it. "No problem. You're wondering why I told you at all?" he assumed, and correctly as a sheepish look crossed her face. "Uh, yeah, kinda. I mean, Naruto describes you as very enigmatic."

"Appropriate terminology," he replied with a slight grin. "But truth be told, Naruto trusts you completely. And that's good enough for me despite my enigmatic personality."

"Can I ask you something?" Kurotsuchi asked suddenly. "Sure," he replied with a raised eyebrow. "Tsuchikage-sama said you were in the Kirigakure Bingo Book. Can I ask why?"  
"I killed one of the Seven Swordsmen."

"You killed one of the seven swordsmen?" she said in disbelief. "Yes, however, almost all of them are missing-nin so it's not like I killed a loyal Kiri nin or anything. I did keep the sword though which is why I ended up in the book."

With her curiosity on the matter sated she changed the subject, "How long do you think your summons will take to find a lead?"  
"I'm not sure, it hopefully shouldn't be too long, they excel at finding needles in haystacks. They may be able to hide from human populations but they can't hide from birds because they are everywhere, I can guarantee there's a number of birds out there who've seen both of them."

"I see," she said, she didn't really have anything else to say.

"Can I ask you a question?" Tri inquired. "Of course," she cheerfully said. "What's going on between you and Naruto?" he asked unexpectedly. A subtle red tint crept up her cheeks, most of the cheer drained from her as she quickly looked away, she wasn't brave enough to turn back to face him as she timidly replied, "Wh-what do you mean?"

"The way you both look at each other, how your eyes linger on one another for those few fleeting moments." The subtle red became more and more prominent. "He cares greatly for you, you know this, yes?" She didn't trust her voice to answer. "Back when we were in the Jūnishi I lost count of the number of women who tried to tempt him to their beds but he showed no interest in any.

"Then one day he asked me to create the two scrolls you both use. That's when I noticed the interest he showed in you. You should have seen the look on his face when I handed them to him, it was as if I'd given him the keys to Heaven and a map with directions to get there."

Kurotsuchi eyes fell on Naruto. "And I can't help but wonder.."

"Wonder what?" Again her voice was timid, barely above a whisper. "Wonder how much his feelings are in fact mutual." That red tint rapidly spread to encompass her entire face. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," she weakly said.

Tri stifled a chuckle as her flustered voice, he could also detect a hint of worry. "I think you do. There isn't much that escapes this eye, it's very good for spotting the little things. I know Itachi has seen it too." With every word he said Kurotsuchi looked more and more dejected, she thought they'd taken every precaution.

"Me and Itachi also agreed to let you both sort out what exactly you're both looking for." Her head shot back around to face him. "Yes, you heard correctly," he teased, "Your secret is safe with us," he said with a reassuring smile.

"Why?"  
"Because it's not our business," he answered, "It is for the two of you alone."

She was quiet but her lips curved up into a soft smile. "And while it certainly isn't needed, you have my blessing. Although I shouldn't need to tell you what'll happen if you hurt him, right?" She frantically nodded at his warning. "Good, you've learnt today through what means there is nowhere to hide from me."

"Anyway, I'm gonna try sleeping again, give what I've said some thought. Just keep in mind that Naruto's probably as nervous as you are, don't be afraid to force the issue," he told her. "Thank you," she quietly said as he rolled over and closed his eyes. Kurotsuchi just sat there for a few minutes in thought before jumping up to return to her previous perch.

* * *

"Oh, we might be in business," Tri called out to everyone. "Jeez, finally," one of the Iwa nin muttered. It was already early afternoon. They'd continued moving into Ta no Kuni having crossed the border from Tsuchi no Kuni in mid-morning.

The change in scenery was abrupt, gone were the bare cliffs and rocky passages with only a few shrubs dotted about to break the grey/ brown monotony. Now the scenery was filled with rolling hills and plains covered in cultivated soil. There seemed to be barely an inch of free ground that wasn't used for growing something. Fields were choked with Carrots, Onions and Kami and all other manners of foodstuffs. It truly was a place that lived by its name.

They all slowed to a halt as one of the two Ravens returned, landing on Tri's shoulder as the two began their silent conversation. Over the next minute or two Tri's facial expression would occasionally change, something a few of them found quite humorous. Eventually, Tri relayed what his summon had brought him.

"All right, we have a lead. They found three birds who recognised our targets, thankfully."  
"Why thankfully?" Naruto asked. "Because the first two birds were a Blackbird and a wood Pigeon, the third was a Crow so we're in business."

Silence…

"Uh, Tri... Care to elaborate?" Naruto suggested. Tri did so without pause as if this were a conversation devoid of bizarre circumstance. "Blackbirds are usually misleading and Pigeons are hideously unreliable but Crows while slow to trust and very insular are pretty reliable." It was only then that the Uzumaki saw the expressions on everyone's face. "What?... Oh, right yeah, that," he realised.

"Yes, some birds are more reliable than others. Is it really too far a stretch for you? Naruto's hawk Horus can tear a spine from its body and Tou-san can call upon a 100ft toad but this is apparently too much for you all," he countered.

Naruto had been in the midst of raising a finger, "Good point," he relented. "So where are we going?" Itachi asked having himself recovered. "East, they've changed direction. Seems we won't be going through Kaze no Kuni at all. They've gone through Tori no Kuni which has its pros and cons."

"How so?"  
"The pros are that there are birds absolutely everywhere there so hiding is hopeless for them. The cons are that the route is much shorter and they can move faster not having to worry about Suna patrols."

"Amegakure patrols tend to pass through the country as well," Kitsuchi grunted. "A concern we shall tackle if we should come across one. Let's get moving," Kurotsuchi replied. The reaction was instant as they got going again.

It wasn't long until the conversations started again, "Hey Tri, I'm intrigued now which birds are best and worst for your little spies?" Shinsuke found himself asking.

"Doves, Doves are by far and away the best. They are simply incapable of lying. The next best are Robins, Crows, Sparrows and Ravens. Owls are good but only at night. I've already told you Blackbirds and Pigeons aren't much use. But there are also Magpies who are notorious liars, Swallows are too childish. Starlings are just hopeless, you ask just one a question and absolutely all of them bombard you with answers. And while Ducks and Geese aren't intelligent enough Swans are but are unbelievably arrogant."

"Do you have any idea how absurd that all sounds Tri-kun?" Hana asked. "Yep," he replied with a laugh. "But I promise you, it's all true."

"So do you know this for every kind of bird or just the ones you named?" Shinsuke questioned. "A fair few. Why, did you have one in mind?"  
"Yeah, I was wondering if you knew about Tits and Boobies?" Incredibly he managed to say it with an absolutely straight face.

Shinsuke sported a wide grin as they all looked at him. Tri burst into laughter, Naruto following shortly after. Several of the Iwa team snickered away as Suzushii, Kurotsuchi and Kitsuchi shook their heads in amusement. Hana growled in annoyance, even Itachi wasn't immune as a rare wry smile spread across his face.

* * *

End Chapter

[ **1** ] - Bird is British slang for young woman or girlfriend

[ **2** ] - Dorobou is the Japanese word for thief


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

* * *

 **Review Responses:**

 **EeveeTheImmortal** : That's just fine friend. As for how many chapters are left, there's probably going to be a lot more than 36.

 **Lorien Legacy, Dragonball Shin, Barut12717** : Thank you all for your kind words!

* * *

The Chase

* * *

Ta no Kuni, a land converted and utterly consumed by the desire, the need to grow things. And just as the Land of Vegetables lived up to its name, so did Tori no Kuni.  
They were absolutely everywhere, there wasn't a single tree, nor a single bush that didn't have at least one. Every order of bird seemed to be represented whether they be Anseriformes or Accipetriformes and everything in between

"Why are there so damn many of the things?" Shinsuke complained as he was forced to duck under yet another low flying Pigeon. "D'ya know, there's an old story about Tori no Kuni," Kurotsuchi said, "The story goes that years ago an elderly Daimyō and his wife loved birds so much that they spent fortunes on importing a mating pair of every bird species they could get their hands on. After they'd both died, their son who didn't care much for birds simply released them all.

"And since then, they've been breeding non-stop."  
"That story sounds really familiar," Naruto muttered, not quite able to put his finger on why. "The story comes from an old children's book Naruto-san," Kitsuchi said, remembering his wife reading that exact book to their pink-eyed daughter.

The Blonde clicked his fingers, "Ah, yes, that was it."

"I'm surprised you know of it, Naruto-san. It's not exactly a well-known story east of Tsuchi no Kuni." Naruto strangely wasn't forthcoming with a reply as he looked away bashfully. "Why Naruto-san. Are you prone to enjoying a good children's story?" Kurotsuchi asked with a thin grin on her lips. Naruto's silence continued as he suddenly realised how interesting the hills off to their right were. It was definitely only a coincidence that he was looking away from everyone else.

' _Kami sake Naruto, why are you embarrassed by one of your childhood hobbies?_ ' Tri wondered. He distinctly remembered the bottom shelf of the bookcase in Naruto's room been crammed with storybooks. That bookcase might have been gone, replaced by a larger one with the books moved to Minusha's room but he knew Naruto still enjoyed reading one occasionally. He just couldn't understand why it embarrassed him.

Shaking his head at the strange revelations of the past day or so Kitsuchi turned to the Iwa teams sensor. "Sukauto-san,[1] have you come across anything?" The Chūnin in his early twenties shook his head, "Nothing sir, not a single chakra signature except for ours."

The tall veteran sighed in frustration, it was now nearing a day since they'd turned eastwards. Tri's two summons would come and go every few hours, relaying more up to date intelligence back to them. Since then they had again changed their direction of travel, turning more to the North-east. Tri assured them they were actually closing the gap.

"Perhaps we should pick up the pace Kurotsuchi-san?" he heard Itachi ask his daughter, the young woman nodding her agreement, the twelve Ninja and three Ninken kicking up a gear or two. A short time later they were re-joined by Muninn who after a few moments perched on Tri's shoulder flew off again. "Tri?" Itachi asked, "We're still on the right course," he relayed.

It would be another two hours when the sun was highest in the sky signalling the arrival of the afternoon when Huginn returned. By now they'd all learnt to watch Tri's facial expressions so their collective interest spiked when it suddenly changed. They all waited for him to speak, "Our quarry has rendezvoused with an Ame squad."

That brought their group to a halt. "How many and how long ago?" Itachi immediately asked, a serious edge coming through in his voice. "They rendezvoused with a squad of four about an hour ago. They appeared to have been waiting for them."

"So this operation was planned out," Kitsuchi concluded. "It would appear so," Itachi agreed.

Turning back to Tri, "How far from them are we?" Tri was silent a few moments as he waited for Huginn to tell him, "They're a few miles east of us," he answered. "Are they still moving?" A few moments more silence, "Yes but they're not in any rush."

With a nod of understanding Itachi knelt down, pulling a map from one of his pouches, unfolding it he lay it flat on the ground. "Ok, we're about twenty miles into Tori no Kuni, it's about eighty miles to the Ishi no Kuni (Land of Stone) border," he explained as everyone crowded around the map. "And from there it's about another eighty miles to the Ame border," he added tapping Ame no Kuni (Land of Rain) on the map with a finger.

"Kurotsuchi-san, how good is your team's stamina?" Itachi asked after a few moments of quiet. "A-absolutely fine," she spluttered as if Itachi had made a rude remark. The Uchiha just ignored her defensive response. "Because I'm thinking we use the distance remaining to our advantage and we wear them down. Make them run non-stop the entire way to Ame no Kuni. Then with ten, maybe twenty miles to go we pounce."

"It's a risky assumption to base a plan around Itachi-san," Kurotsuchi said pouring water on it, "You're hoping they'll run out of stamina before they reach safety," she added. "You could always artificially increase the distance they have to travel," Suzushii contributed, "Elaborate," Itachi asked. "Instead of allowing them to run straight to Ame no Kuni, make their path of least resistance curve all over the place, a few miles to the North-east here, South-east here et cetera.

Itachi found himself nodding approvingly, "I like it. Anyone fancy guessing how much we can extend their distance to travel?" he put to them all. "Perhaps another 50, 60 miles," Hana answered, Tri quickly agreeing with her.

Ok, to get them changing directions you need to be ahead of them, how are you achieving that?" Kurotsuchi asked Itachi who simply pointed at Tri, "He can do that."

"We need to keep up so how do we ensure we don't tire ourselves out?"  
"They don't need to see us Suzushii. They just need to know someones after them, we don't need to make the changes of direction with them, so our route is shorter than theirs," Itachi explained. "We'd need to make the pace relentless, if we let up they'll likely realise what we're doing," Naruto added.

"Does this plan meet with your approval Kurotsuchi-san?" Itachi asked the pink-eyed Jōnin. "Yes but there are two notable details we need to sort first. Firstly where do you intend to engage them?" He looked back down at the map, it was far from a ground survey but it did at least possess some details denoting terrain.

"Do the terrains of Tsuchi no Kuni and Ishi no Kuni differ much?" he asked the Iwa Shinobi. They all shook their heads, "No they're pretty similar," Kitsuchi answered. "Tri, you can make more Kage Bunshin than all of us, can you scout out a battle site with them? Somewhere that inhibits their ability to manoeuvre but allows us to utilise our larger numbers." He nodded his understanding.

"Ok, the second point?"  
"Us, or more specifically my squad crossing into Ishi no Kuni." Itachi's eyes furrowed then widened as he jumped from confused to realisation, "Oh, of course, you and Ishi don't get along do you." Kitsuchi snorted, "That's an understatement."  
"How heated is it?" Naruto asked. "There's still the occasional border clash every year or two."  
"The only thing preventing a war is Ishi and Suna's defensive agreement," Kurotsuchi added.

"Because it would eventually drag Konoha in right?" Suzushii surmised. "More than that, our planners estimated it would eventually drag every great nation in. Konoha and Suna would beat Iwa, shifting the balance of power to them and away from Kumo and Kiri so they'd get involved just to keep the status-quo," Kitsuchi elaborated.

"Well. How do we, ya know. Not do that?" Shinsuke asked. All twelve of them were quiet as their minds all went to work processing the issue. "I think I've got an idea," Sukauto said, everyone turned and listened in.

"This mission, it's a joint mission right, equally lead by both villages?"  
"It is," Kurotsuchi answered nodding, "Ok, so let's say for the sake of appearances when we cross in Ishi no Kuni that we, as in the Iwa half 'surrendered' our half of control over the mission? "So as far as Ishi is concerned, it's a Konoha led mission. It just so happens they've hired an Iwa squad to assist them because they know the region better." Itachi thought a few moments, the back of his thumb tapping against his chin.

"Ok, our half of the mission could become the primary goal. We just don't mention the Iwa half of the mission and if they do somehow know, we just spin it as a coincidence." Turning to face the two members of the Tsuchikage family, "What do you both think?"

Father and Daughter looked at one another, both asking each other the same question with their eyes. Both turned back to face him, "Given the time constraints we have to work with, we'll agree to go with Sukauto's plan," Kurotsuchi said for them both, Kitsuchi supportively nodding twice.

"Let's get to it," Itachi declared.

* * *

"Do we have to move so slowly? Couldn't we, shouldn't we go faster?" Dorobou asked the Ame Shinobi around him. Aoi sighed in an attempt to alleviate his annoyance, Dorobou had been skittish the entire time, the fact that he'd successfully stolen the Iwa Tsue was the only thing that stopped Aoi from simply strangling him. At least that way he'd shut up.

"Firstly I'm enjoying being out of Amegakure for a few days, it's nice to enjoy some sunlight. Secondly the shinobi in Ishi no Kuni are rather jumpy and charging through at full speed represents an unnecessary risk."  
"But what if someone manages to pick up our trail?" Aoi snorted, "Stop worrying for Kami's sake, why do you think I had you head westward through Tsume no Kuni (Land of Claws) before looping southwards through Na no Kuni. By the time they figure out which way you went to begin with, it'll be far too late."

Unfortunately for them, neither had any idea of what was rapidly closing them down.

Trying to get the overly nervous Dorobou's complaints from his mind his hand drifted to the weapon attached to his waist. When not in use the weapon was only a hilt, as if the blade had been removed but when chakra flowed into it the blade sparked into life, a yellow blade made from Raiton chakra. The Raijin no Ken, the former weapon of Senju Tobirama.

Ame's latest recruit still looking as nervous as ever was stood next to him under a large wide branched tree, the long near five-foot staff secured over his shoulder. It was made from what he believed was a single piece of Obsidian but it was beautifully detailed. How exactly they managed to carve such detail into so hard a substance intrigued him.

His multi-month plan to 'persuade' their latest recruit into joining them and bring the Iwa-Tsue with him was a success. The success of his plan he was sure would push him up the ranks in Amegakure, he as did every Ame nin sought the favour of their mysterious leader.

A leader they all knew almost nothing about, only that his name was Pein and that his will was brought to them by his angel, an angel that Aoi guessed to be in her thirties perhaps. Whatever her age, she was a beautiful woman with blue hair and amber eyes clad from head to toe in a black cloak detailed with red clouds.

The people of Ame, civilian and Shinobi alike revered Pein and his angel. It was they who had ended the tyranny of Hanzo the Salamander.

Aoi may have been born in Konoha and therefore still an outsider to some but he had embraced Ame as his home so he too had embraced the religious levels of reverence they felt for Pein. It was appropriate really, Pein had declared himself a god and they accepted it without question.

Gods, after all, were powerful, and it would have taken someone with great power to kill Hanzo the Salamander, a man so powerful that he could single-handedly fight all three members of the Sannin to a standstill. It was Hanzo himself who had bestowed the trio of Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade with the title of Sannin.

 _'And speaking of the Sannin,_ ' he thought, even though years had gone by, his mirth still knew no end when he imagined how furious Senju Tsunade must have been when she discovered the Raijin no Ken had been stolen. _'After all the weapon used to belong to the Bimbo's Great-Uncle_.'

With an amused shake of the head, he surveyed his surroundings. He could see the mountain chain to the north, considered by almost everyone to be impassable thanks to its countless sheer cliffs and jagged razor sharp rocks.

But it was partly because of those mountains that they found themselves waiting under a tree. The great spires of stone prevented clouds from travelling any further north. The sun blasted deserts of Kaze no Kuni only exacerbating matters as the dry winds drove more moisture into the region and since it couldn't leave there was only one option left.

When it rained in Tori no Kuni, it really rained.

And right now, it was absolutely hurling it down. These rain showers while brief and intermittent never lasting more than ten to fifteen minutes were incredibly intense. The sound of rain striking everything felt deafening, the previously dry dirt track was now pot marked with puddles of muddy water.

Then just as quickly as it had arrived, it ended, the afternoon sun once more peeking through the clouds.

"I swear, it's as if there's a giant tap above this whole country that someone turns on several times a day," one of the Ame squad that had joined them irritably muttered. Aoi gave him a weird look, "But it rains constantly in Ame?"  
"Yeah, but nothing like this. In Ame, the rain is soft and gentle on the skin. Here it may as well be hail, it's just absurd," he muttered as they got moving again.

Aoi snorted in amusement as he turned to the squad leader, "How long until we reach the Ishi border?" he asked. "At this pace, maybe twenty-five, thirty hours," was the deep-voiced reply.

Aoi blew air out of his mouth as a way of sighing. It was going to be a long, tedious and incredibly boring day. His eyes were drawn to a bird perched on a tree branch, the creature just stared at them for a few moments before it began grooming under one of its black feathered wings. He shook his head and put it from his mind.

A few minutes later the nin who'd taken point raised his arm bringing them all to a halt. "What?" the squad leader questioned, they only pointed to tall grass ahead of them. Just visible was a line of thin wire pulled across the front of the grass.

'That's dreadfully hidden, almost as if on purpose..'

The squad leader pulled out a shuriken and threw it, the wire severed, immediately a flurry of kunai shot towards them. They all dodged them with little effort. "What th…" Aoi was cut off by the snap of a branch to the left was immediately followed by an explosion. "Everyone move!" the squad leader shouted, "Move South-east," he continued shouting as they were showered in leaves, twigs and dirt.

Not fifty feet away, knelt in the long wild grass was an utterly soaked Tri, he was decidedly annoyed because he'd had no choice but to put with the rain. His clothing, his hair, both were completely drenched. He pulled out the band holding his hair back in a ponytail and instead tied it into a single tight bun after wringing the excess moisture from it.

He kneaded small amounts of Katon chakra in his stomach to help ward off the cold as he dried out. Both his summons who'd just re-joined him were looking his way, he could hear their barely restrained laughing in his mind, 'Not a word,' he mentally growled at them both.

Tri would sweep around to their left-hand side, from there he could get back in front of them when needed, all the while keeping out of sight. He was waiting for them to slow, that's when he'd strike again, just when they'd think they were safe. He aimed to wear them down mentally as well as physically. With the aid of his two Ravens he would keep them going in the direction he wished.

Muninn for the entirety of this run would remain with him while Huginn would take position on the opposite side of the Ame nin. While Tri shared a mental connection with both, it's range was limited to about 100 feet. But the connection shared between the Ravens themselves was essentially limitless. Muninn's continued presence close to him would allow him to remain in contact with Huginn via proxy. Tri had also placed a seal on both of Huginn's talons. It would allow the bird to use Tri's own chakra to summon explosive tags directly from his storage seals.

Off in the near distance he heard an explosion, 'I see Huginn's rather eager to use them,' he chuckled to himself. ' **So it would seem** ,' Muninn said. They'd already agreed to keep them running South-east for at least half an hour before turning them North-east.

The hours ticked by as the light of day faded away to be replaced by the dull white glow of moonlight.

Behind them was the chasing pack, now never more than two miles behind, Sukauto keeping them within range as they took every measure they could to minimise the distance they travelled. The eleven Shinobi had fallen into a formation that somewhat resembled an arrowhead.

Kurotsuchi and Itachi were in the second row behind Hana and her Ninken. "Itachi-san," she said to him, "While I understand tiring them out, why not just confront and deal with them immediately?"  
"You understand the importance of home field advantage?" She nodded, "Right now, in Tori no Kuni none of the twelve of us have that advantage," he began to explain.

"There's too much greenery and it's too flat compared to what you and your team are used to and there are far too few trees for what we're used to. Ishi no Kuni, however, has the rocky terrain you and your team are used to."  
"But that puts you and your team at a disadvantage," Her words mixed the lines of a question and a statement. "While you are correct, six of us having an advantage is preferable to none. I don't want to risk any of us dying by rushing in."  
"That's also why you had Tri-san scout out an ambush site too?"  
"Yes, although I'm not sure if he realised this secondary purpose. Regardless, it wasn't necessary that he needed to."

* **Boom** *

They heard the muffled sound of another explosion off in the distance. "He's still enjoying himself I see," she noted, while his face didn't show it her comment amused Itachi. "He's always carried hundreds of exploding tags with him on missions but he rarely gets to use them."  
"Hundreds?" a disbelieving Kurotsuchi asked. "Yep, hundreds. Remember he's already considered by some to be a Fūinjutsu master so he makes his own in bulk.

"Over-preparing for missions is standard for him, hundreds of shuriken, hundreds of kunai and that's just the regular equipment."  
"Pays to be prepared," she replied before they both fell silent again.

They were approaching the third night of this mission and when silence fell over them Kurotsuchi was left with only her thoughts for company. But despite her best efforts she was struggling to focus her mind right now thanks to the distracting bangs every few minutes.

'It's going to be a long, dull night,' she thought to herself.

* * *

 **Early the following afternoon**

Itachi one by one moved between everyone, handing each of them a very small satchel. "Itachi, what are these?" Hana asked eying the item he'd given her. "That Hana is an energy restoring gel, tear the top off and eat it." They all did as he instructed, "Oh, I should mention it tastes absolutely horrendous."

The scowls and looks of general discontent on their faces suggested they'd found that out. "Eaten? Good, now I need you to return the satchels to me," he informed them. "Why?" Suzushii asked.

"Because these sachets are only available to ANBU. They're fairly expensive to make so you never got them from me, understood?" They all nodded as they quickly returned them, Itachi wrapped them all in a piece of dry cloth and set the lot on fire. "I take it the ingredient mix is a secret?" Sukauto asked, "You are correct Sukauto-san," he answered.

"It'll take ten, twenty minutes to kick in but you'll notice when it does. Hopefully, your Ninken will be ok with small food pills Hana, the sachets aren't safe for them to consume."  
"No, that's fine," the Inuzuka replied.

Itachi knew he had just indirectly acknowledged his being an ANBU member to foreign Shinobi but it wasn't important right now.

As most had expected the night was dull and with little in the way of incidents. The morning was no different apart from they could see more than ten feet away again. They still heard an explosion every now and then up ahead of them.

Off to their left they heard a rustle in the overgrowth as Tri emerged amongst them for the first time since he'd left. "Clone?" Itachi asked, it nodded. "Prove it," Naruto suspiciously demanded. The clone held its hand out, a Rasengan quickly appearing in its palm. "It's genuine," Naruto informed them all, there were only five people in the world who could perform the Rasengan.

"Boss has found an ambush site about fifteen miles South-east. It's a narrow-ish valley with steep stone cliffs around most sides, there's only a single path leading through it, one way in, one way out. Once in there, they're trapped. It's also wide enough to use our greater numbers as you asked for."  
"Excellent, are you staying with us?"  
"Yes, I'm to guide you in."

"How are the Ame lot holding up?"  
"Pretty terrible, they've been run ragged, Dorobou, in particular, looks like he's ready to drop. It was especially bad for them during the night, they couldn't see the shuriken and kunai we mixed in. They're all sporting plenty of cuts, most just deep enough to bleed a while and sting a lot

"How are you all getting on?" the clone asked. "We're doing alright, Itachi's just given us some energy gel," Kurotsuchi answered. Clone Tri raised an eyebrow Itachi's way, "Yes I'm aware of the rules surrounding their use," the Uchiha said. The clone shrugged his shoulders, "You're the one who has to explain where they went."

"Where is the real Tri-san right now?" Kurotsuchi asked. "He's already at the ambush site, he went on ahead to survey it himself after a clone discovered it this morning. He left some more clones to keep up the harassment."

* * *

"H-how much f-further?" a red in the face Dorobou asked. His chest was heaving, his heart racing. He was slouched slightly to the side thanks to a mean abdominal cramp. "Not much longer, just the valley pass to go then it's a straight shot to Ame no Kuni," a tired Aoi called back to him. If he wasn't so tired he might have actually strangled Dorobou to quell his complaining.

He'd already been forced to give him two stamina injections to stop his leg muscles from seizing up. But there was nothing he could do for the multitude of cuts they now all sported. The night had been awful for them, they simply couldn't see the shuriken and kunai coming so had to put up with the stinging cuts they'd received.

The harassment against them had been ceaseless, they'd tried several times to break in a direction of their choosing but had been forced back each and every time with only more cuts to show for their efforts.

"There's the passage," one of them called out. Directly ahead of them was a large, imposing rock face with a V-shaped wedge driven down the middle of it. Its walls were remarkably smooth, the product of deliberate carving in the distant past. The pass itself was some two hundred feet wide and around ten feet wide at the base.

They had eyes only for the exit where the passage widened out into a large open space, thus they all completely missed the disguised traps, one of them stepping on a pressure sensitive Fūinjutsu design inked onto the floor.

* **BOOM** *

A deep hissing sound was the only warning any could have received as a huge explosion rocked the passage. Shards of rock were sent whizzing through the air at high speed as a cloud of dust enveloped them. The shockwave blew most of them off their feet and left their ears ringing.

Aoi's senses were sluggish to return but when they did and the dust subsided he tried looking around him, what he saw was total carnage. What had once been a smooth flat wall now sported a gaping hole several feet deep, the debris of which was now scattered all around them.

The squad leader had a long thin shard of rock buried in his arm, he tentatively wrapped his fingers around the protruding piece of limestone. He took a few, short, rapid breaths and pulled hard, it's exit was followed by a spurt of blood as he tried to suppress the scream of pain building in his throat.

Aoi did a quick headcount, a feeling of dread building in the pit of his stomach, they were one short. "We're missing one, find him," he ordered the others as they too sought the recovery of their senses.

"Found them," one of them said shortly after. "Where?" Aoi asked arrived at his side. He simply pointed at a large slab of stone blown out of the wall, a growing pool of blood emerging from underneath.

"Ok," Aoi quietly said, "Come on we need to keep moving," he added trying to encourage the rest as he pulled Dorobou to his feet, surreptitiously checking to see that the Iwa-Tsue was undamaged as he did.

Unbeknownst to them all, however, Tri's trap was only half completed. Quietly hissing away just underneath the sandy floor of the passage was another set of explosive tags, only these were an experimental design charged with Shakuton chakra.

The gentle hissing grew louder, it took Aoi a moment to realise it was coming from beneath them, "Hurry, Move it!" he urgently shouted to them, he practically pushed two of them further down the passage.

The tags timers burnt out and they activated. There was no second explosion but the sand and stone were consumed by a rapidly expanding luminous red sphere. It glowed and pulsed with energy and the heat, Aoi had to look away, close his eyes and shield his face with his hand.

And just like that, it vanished. What was left behind was a perfect spherical imprint in the ground nearly six feet wide. Aoi had seen the sphere engulf the huge slab his comrade was crushed under and now both were gone, only a pile of ash remained at the bottom of the crater.

With there being nothing they could do for their fallen comrade they continued down the passage eventually stumbling out into the wide space at the end. "W-who's that?" one of them slurred, their glazed over eyes focusing just long enough to make out the figure of a person sitting down with the legs folded in front of them.

Aoi had been unfazed until now but who he saw on the opposite side of the clearing concerned him, he recognised them. ' _I need to give the others a chance to catch their breath. It seems he's the only one here so I just have to keep him talking_.'

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Minato's little baby boy all grown up," he laughed trying to put on the bravado, "A strange place for a vacation I must admit." The young man just shook his head in amusement. "Hello Aoi-kun, I do hope your people are alright, they looked a little banged up."

' _That's it, just keep talking_ ,' both of them mentally grinned.

"You also seem to be one short, did you misplace them somewhere?"

That last statement got a flicker of anger out of Aoi before he quelled it, he also chose to ignore it. "I'm sure they'll be fine. After all, they've only you to deal with then they can go home. I take it the explosive tags in the passage were you're doing?"  
"Yes."  
"And you're the one who's been chasing us across entire countries for the past day?"  
"Correct again."

"I want his head," the Jōnin squad leader quietly growled. "And we'll take it, don't worry. Get everyone else ready, Uzumaki Tri will be hard to kill," he quietly replied holding his hand in front of his mouth to prevent lip reading.

"You know Tri-san, there's a fairly sizeable bounty on your head."  
"I am aware, however, it isn't as large as the one on yours Aoi-kun," was his calm reply.

Aoi could hear activity behind him, he turned his head to see the other Ame nin all pulling weapons and glaring menacingly at Tri.

A cocky grin spread across Aoi's face, "Anyway I think that's enough talking. See, my comrades here want you dead and who am I to tell them otherwise," Aoi said they all began to cautiously walk towards Tri's spreading out as they did.

But something seemed off, Tri didn't move in the slightest, in fact, he was still grinning despite the perceived threat to his life walking towards him. "Stop," Aoi ordered holding his arm out to his side. It took the traitor a moment to realise, "Oh, of course, you're considered one of the best Fūinjutsu users in the world."

His statement made the Ame nin look at him like he was mad, How could one so young be so good at so difficult and complex a field?

Withdrawing a kunai Aoi threw it at the ground between them and Tri.

The ground immediately erupted in a series of small explosions, a multitude of small jagged shards of metal shot into the air. Had they stood on the trap they'd have been riddled with the difficult to remove metal pieces. Tri gave him a small polite applause, something that antagonised the squad leader no end.

"Why are you clapping!" he shouted, "You should be spending your final moments valiantly thinking of a way to escape."

Tri chuckled, shaking his in an exaggerative manner. "You understand don't you Aoi-kun? Understand that it's not me you need to be worried about."

* * *

End Chapter

[1] – Sukauto is the Japanese word for Scout


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

* * *

 **Alright we're back. There were a couple of family birthdays last week so there were a few days I wasn't working on this. Anyway, it's done now and honestly I feel the chapters better for the extra time I've had to work on it so expect more chapters to take two weeks instead of one in future.**

 **And in other news we passed 250 Favourites, thank you all!**

* * *

Relics Recovered

"You understand - don't you Aoi-kun? Understand that it's not me you need to be worried about?"

His words open Aoi's mind up to a major realisation. He'd stopped paying attention to his surroundings and he was sure the rest of his group were guilty of the same mistake. They'd broken one of the golden rules of Shinobi.

A noise behind him immediately drew his attention, it was followed by a splattering of wetness up the back of his uncovered arms. Twisting one of his arms he saw small red droplets begin to run down his arm.

With a sense of dread building in his stomach, he turned his head. He knew that sound, it was the sound of sharpened steel sliding through flesh.

As his eyes fell on the face of the man behind him, that same man coughed, there was a deep, gurgled sound to it, more drops of blood landed on his face. The eyes of Aoi's comrade were wide in shock, the light in them dimming quickly and his face was chalk white. Through his chest was a long sword pulsing with blue light.

The swords holder tilted the weapon's tip towards the ground, the now limp body slid off landing on the ground with a thud never to rise again. Aoi's eyes following the bodies descent to the ground but with the killer's identity now revealed his eyes snapped back up, he immediately recognised Naruto.

"Howdy," the blonde cheerfully yet sinisterly greeted him.

Aoi's ears registered multiple gasps of shock and concern courtesy of the three remaining nin with him. A quick look around showed they were massively outnumbered three to one. But it could always get worse, and it did.

Dorobou took a fearful step back and then another, he'd immediately recognised Kurotsuchi and Kitsuchi. He panicked, he ran. Aoi could only watch on in utter disbelief as he ran up the smooth slanted walls of the clearing, vanishing into the thin treeline beyond. "You fucking Coward!" he shouted after him.

"I'll collect our runaway," Tri said as he stood, disappearing a moment later.

Words failed Aoi, his plan, his seemingly flawless plan that he'd spent months planning out had totally collapsed around him. Now he and the remainder of his Ame group faced imminent decimation.

"You Bastard!" the squad leader screamed as he charged Naruto, weapons drawn. The man had seen red, the killing of a second member of his squad pushed him over the periphery and the vanishing of Tri left just Naruto for him to turn his ire upon. He wasn't, however, paying attention so he never saw Itachi make a move.

The Uchiha appeared slightly squatted down directly in front of him, he positioned himself perfectly to be within the man's guard. He simply couldn't react quick enough as Itachi struck out, his kunai penetrating just deep enough to nick the man's jugular vein.

The squad leaders forward momentum kept him moving forward although collapsing forward would have been more appropriate now. His hands moved to his throat in an ultimately hopeless attempt to stem the substantial blood flow, his hands quickly painted red. Aoi could only watch on as his number including him fell to just two.

"Give it up Aoi," Naruto suggested, "This ends only one of two ways and neither of them includes you escaping." He was silent as he watched the struggle cease and another body was still.

"Perhaps," he replied turning his gaze to Naruto, "But then, perhaps I can take you with me," he challenged. Aoi drew Raijin no Ken, slipping into a fighting stance the sword burst into life, a yellow blade sparking from the hilt.

Realising he was being challenged to a singles duel Naruto flicked Kuchibashi to remove any of the remaining blood droplets, wiping the rest away he re-sheathed the blade before drawing the shorter Kagizume.

"You're welcome to try Aoi," he replied as they both started manoeuvring for space. "You have to tell me though, why now? Why did Konoha wait all these years to chase down little ol' me?" Naruto snorted, "An opportunity to nurture a working relationship with Iwagakure presented itself. You simply happened to be in the way. Sorry Aoi, no special treatment for you."

"I see," he coldly muttered. "It appears I made the right decision in joining Amegakure if Konoha is willing to work with Iwa," he spat. He, like most Shinobi at the time, lost friends in the Third Great World War. "Anyway, I think that's our short chat over. And I do hope the Hokage won't be too upset when I kill his eldest son."

Naruto rolled his eyes in mirth, "Times change Aoi, keep up or get left behind. And yeah talk is cheap, time for action. You've held onto something that doesn't belong to you for far too long. It's time it was reunited with its rightful owners," Naruto snarled.

Not a second was wasted, both shot forward, their blades clashing. The yellow of Raijin no Ken fought the blue of Kagizume. It was apparent from the blue hue it gave off that Naruto was imbuing the shorter of his two swords with chakra, specifically Fūton chakra.

Aoi noticed the weapon was giving off chakra, he spotted the small wind blades rolling off Naruto's weapon. He jumped back immediately, ' _Damn it, Fūton chakra makes this difficult_.' Fūton chakra most effectively countered the Raiton used to form the blade of his sword, it would help keep Aoi at a distance making it harder to electrocute him.

This spelt trouble for Aoi, his combat style revolved around electrocuting his opponents until they could no longer fight back at which point he'd kill them.

"You were the one who challenged me Aoi. Tradition dictates that you attack first, at least that's what I was taught," Naruto taunted. But it didn't work, Aoi remained unmoved as he instead glared at him. "Well alright then, if you concede your right to attack first I'll begin mine," he said moving to an offensive stance.

Naruto flickered as he made his move. A display of speed that a fully rested Aoi would have been able to handle but right now he was far from rested. He barely got his weapon up to block the first strike, a diagonal upwards slash. He was forced to concede ground to keep Naruto away as the strikes kept coming.

He estimated his weapon to be several inches longer but it didn't seem to a bit of difference.

A second fast flurry of attacks quickly followed the first, this time ending with a short forward thrust aimed at his intestines. It was a strike that Aoi barely dodged. He was making chakra trails with Raijin no Ken but it didn't seem to matter, Naruto simply worked around them using speed and attack sequences Aoi had never encountered before.

Despite using such a well-renowned weapon Aoi had never actually received proper swordsmen training and right now it was glaringly obvious when juxtapositioned against Naruto who received tuition from multiple master swordsmen/ women.

A third rapid and fluid flurry and Aoi received his first wound, a cut on his right leg just below the knee. "Damn," he grunted as blood began seeping from the wound, trickling down his leg. ' _But how? I know the actual blade didn't touch me._ '

Naruto spotted the slight look of confusion on his face, "Fūton chakra is very malleable," he said. Aoi looked closely at the wound, the cut was absolutely clean, no skin was shredded at all. ' _So the chakra is what cut me, he's able to increase the length of the blade._ '

A fourth flurry followed. And while Aoi was able to escape any new injuries he had a new problem to add to his still-growing list.

His blade was beginning to crack, the repeated blows of it striking against Kagizume was pushing its endurance to the limit. He'd used almost all his remaining chakra to power the weapon, he didn't have enough to do so a second time.

Aoi tried desperately to weave his way through Naruto's attacks but it was so difficult to read his movements, one moment you'd be blocking a downward slash then ducking under a spinning back kick the next. Naruto's form was flawless as he lashed out with a side slash which Aoi blocked; that was a mistake. The blade – shattered.

Yellow fragments discharged what little chakra they had left as they evaporated into nothing. There was no change of expression on Naruto's face. It was only now that Aoi accepted that he was outclassed but that didn't mean he was done just yet.

Placing the hilt back on his belt he jumped back to gain some distance before pulling the umbrella over his shoulder out and casting it into the sky, a deft twist of the wrist applying a rapid spinning motion.

"Everyone get back!" Kitsuchi shouted as he recognised the calling card of Amegakure, the Senbon Shower. Naruto, however, was well within the kill zone. The umbrella reached as high as it was going to, the moment it began to descend it snapped open and began spraying hundreds upon hundreds of Senbon in every direction.

"Naruto!" Hana yelled out in worry as the blonde didn't budge. Instead, he reversed the grip on his tantō in his right hand and flashed through seals one-handed. Slamming his left hand into the ground palm first he shouted, " **Doton: Doryūheki**." The ground around him erupted in a perfect circle quickly forming a protective sphere over him as the first wave of Senbons struck the surface.

Naruto trained his ears for the slightest sound that might signal a danger to him especially given Raiton's effectiveness against Doton but all he heard was the light 'Tsch' of Senbons striking his mud wall.

' _How am I going to get out of here safely?_ ' was his next question, he'd only awkwardly realised he'd cornered himself as the sphere enclosed around him.

"Naruto, you can come out," he heard after the sound of striking Senbon ended. He recognised Itachi's voice, regardless he was wary as he lowered the barrier, tensed ready to strike in an instant.

Quickly taking in his surroundings there were hundreds, maybe thousands of Senbon scattered in a hollow circle perhaps fifteen meters wide.

All the other Iwa and Konoha Shinobi had backed away in time and were unharmed, the final Ame shinobi, however, was not so fortunate.

They were utterly exhausted and with no one to help them escape the killing zone they were riddled with the several inch long metal implements. Naruto couldn't help but wince at the sight, they better resembled a mutated hedgehog.

He had assumed Itachi had called him out because he was keeping an eye on Aoi. But it wasn't that, it was because Aoi had fallen to his knees, the colour had drained from his face leaving it a sickly white.

Naruto recognised the symptoms, the unfocused eyes, pale skin, difficulty standing; Aoi was beginning to suffer from chakra exhaustion. Their 'fight' if you wanted to call it that was over, it had been utterly one-sided.

Naruto cautiously approached Aoi who's head hung low as he stared at the ground. Everyone knew Aoi was about to die, "Any final words Aoi-san?" Naruto asked. The man in question who hadn't expected anything other to be quickly killed off raised in his head in surprise.

"Well if you'll humour me, I guess there's a few," he answered following a small chuckle. "I don't regret my actions, I don't regret stealing the Raijin no Ken, I don't regret manipulating another Konoha Shinobi in the process, I don't regret betraying Konoha and I don't regret joining Amegakure.

"I've felt more at home in Ame no Kuni than I ever did in Hi no Kuni. I feel a greater connection to Pein-sama than I ever did your father. But despite that, I have a final request."

"Which is?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. Aoi looked him dead in the eyes, "Will you be my Kaishakunin?"

Naruto was stunned and it wasn't just him, practically all of them were taken aback. "The temerity of such a request," Kitsuchi growled at him, utterly disgusted. Aoi just grinned back cockily, "I know, but I'm going to die anyway so what harm is there in asking."  
"You are accepting of your inescapable demise?" Itachi asked him, "I am," he calmly if wearily answered. Itachi and Naruto looked at one another, Itachi shrugged, "The choice is yours, Naruto."

The blonde was silent, he finally answered nearly a minute later. "I will Aoi-san." He knelt down and placed Kagizume on the ground in front of Aoi before stepping off to his side and drawing Kuchibashi. Despite the opportunity to do so, attacking Naruto with his own sword didn't even enter Aoi's mind.

"Don't suppose anyone has any Sake do they?" Aoi chuckled as he picked up the elongated tantō, "No, I thought not," he added with an over the top sigh after no one responded. Naruto gripped Kuchibashi tightly in both hands and lifted it up high above Aoi in line with his neck.

"This is more than you deserve Aoi-san."  
"I know," Aoi replied as he levelled the point of the blade at his stomach. "Then may the afterlife find a more fitting punishment for the crimes you have committed in this life," Naruto toned.

"I'm ready. As soon as I stab myself if you please. And, well met Naruto."

On his final word, he plunged the weapon into the left side of his abdomen, quickly drawing the blade to the right through his entire abdomen, blood gushing out. "Well meet," Naruto replied as his much heavier sword fell. The razor sharp edge cut through skin, flesh, bone and ligament.

The single strong, swift strike killed Aoi instantly. The pain in his abdomen was agonising but then nothing. His body slumped forward as blood poured out onto the ground.

As the Kaishakunin Naruto had successfully performed the Dakikubi as was expected of him. He had only partially decapitated Aoi, his head was still attached to the rest of his body by a thin band of flesh at the front of his neck.

The act of Seppuku was extremely rare amongst Shinobi, it was a ceremony instead associated with Samurai, it was why they'd all been taken aback when Aoi had requested it. In the world of Samurai Seppuku was a way to restore honour upon oneself or one's family but Shinobi cared little for honour; after all what was honour to a dead man?

Truthfully Naruto was just relieved to have performed it successfully, the Dakikubi was a difficult strike to pull off. The Kaishakunin got nothing out of it if they performed the Dakikubi successfully, but to fail and decapitate them completely would be considered a disgrace.

"Well struck Naruto," Itachi quietly said patting him on the shoulder. Together they both rolled Aoi onto his back, Naruto pulled Kagizume from his abdomen while Itachi removed the Raijin no Ken from his belt. Itachi placed a sealing scroll on Aoi's body and instructed them all the await Tri's return, it was his responsibility to ensure evidence was available to prove Aoi's death.

Aoi's choice of ritual suicide had left a sombre air over them all. "This one's still alive," one of the Iwa nin called out. Kitsuchi was soon by their side, the last surviving Ame nin was indeed still breathing, it was shallow and laboured. "Make it quick," Kitsuchi quietly instructed them.

They nodded their head in understanding. Rolling the Ame nin over he placed one of his hands over their eyes as Kitsuchi and Suzushii held them down, with kunai in hand he cut their throat.

A few seconds later their weakening struggles ceased.

-(*)-

It would be nearly ten minutes until Tri returned, the body of Dorobou slung over his right shoulder, the Iwa Tsue in his left hand.

He first walked up to Kurotsuchi, "Ma'am, I believe this is the property of Iwagakure," he formally said extending his left arm out in front of him offering her Iwa Tsue. "I thank you for returning it," she formally replied lifting her hands up underneath the staff to accept it. Tri gave her a curt nod before putting Dorobou's body on the ground next to Aoi's.

"I see no injuries, Tri, how did he die?" Itachi asked him. "Funnily enough I didn't do anything, he was so panicked he wasn't paying attention. He tripped on something and fell down a small but steep ravine, I think he broke his neck on the way down. How did Aoi meet his end?"  
"He committed Seppuku."  
"He did?" Tri asked with wide eyes. Kneeling down he looked at Aoi's near totally severed neck. "Well damn, he actually did. I must admit I'm surprised."  
"We all were but Naruto agreed to aid him in ending his own life."

Naruto was still quiet, he hadn't said a word since ending Aoi's life. But with Tri's return, he could ask him a question that had been on his mind. "Who was he referring to," he muttered.

"You say something, Naruto?" Tri asked. "It's something Aoi said, he referred to his leader as Pein-sama but I've never heard the name before." The two Sharingan wielding Shinobi looked at one another, both shrugged their shoulders. "I've never heard the name either."  
"Really? Any chance you'd be able to find out?"

Tri looked unsure, "Doubtful Naruto, Ame is a really difficult place to get intelligence from. As far as I'm aware Hanzo the Salamander is still in charge there. You could ask Jiraiya I guess but don't get your hopes up."  
"Gah," Naruto said defeated. "Why does it bother you so?" He took a breath, "I don't know, there's just something about that name that unsettles me."

"It's not just that either. Look around us, where the hell are we."

He was right, the clearing they were in was not naturally shaped. The floor was smoothed stone, the walls too were smoothed stone and slanted outwards at a steep angle of about 65°. "You're right," Tri replied, "This place is.. manmade but what for."

All the surfaces were bare, devoid of any detail. "It looks like it's been here a while whatever it is," Tri added kneeling down to rub his hand against the floor. "But it's a mystery that will have to wait for another day. We'd best be making our exit, things to do, events to attend and the like."

"Events? All you ever do is work missions and stare at your wall."  
"You're one to talk!" Tri retorted indignantly.

"While you are correct Tri, Itachi is also correct," Naruto stepped in trying to mediate. "But now you've peaked my curiosity, what event?"  
"Never you mind!" he defensively replied. Naruto narrowed his eyes and grinned.

"You know Itachi, correct me if I'm wrong but the only event coming up in Konoha is the Natsu (Summer) Festival right?"

"Yes, that's the only one for several months." Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Tri, "You've never attended a Natsu Festival in your life. You have to wear a Kimono or Yukata for them and you detest wearing either."

Now Tri was starting to look uncomfortable, "Come on, own up. Who are you going with? There's no way you'd go on your own," Naruto questioned. The rest of the Shinobi present just watched as one brother interrogated the other.

"I-I."  
"Yes…?" Naruto goaded. "I…"  
"Will you just answer already so we can leave," the blonde complained.

"I'm taking Sakura-san alright!" he loudly blurted at him. His answer surprised Naruto and Itachi both into silence. "Her birthday was last month but I missed it thanks to a mission so this is my way of an apology all right - there are you happy now?" His tone of voice carried a serious challenge to it, if either of them said another word he was liable to punch them.

An awkward silence fell over everyone, fortunately, a new problem on the horizon would draw their attention. "We have a problem people," Sukauto said in alarm. "What's the matter?" Kurotsuchi asked spinning around. "I can sense a large group of Shinobi approaching from the North-west."

"Well then boys and girls, tidy up and leave no evidence because we're leaving," Kitsuchi immediately ordered, no one argued. "Which direction are we going in?" Shinsuke shouted to anybody listening. "South, make for Kaze no Kuni. I'd rather risk their desert patrols than staying here or going through Ame," Itachi shouted back.

Many of the others looked at one another as they began piling the bodies together, "Agreed," they collectively murmured.

In short order, all the corpses were dragged into a pile and any weapons and equipment disposed of.

"Did you use one of your experimental explosive tags?" Itachi asked to which Tri nodded. "Well, you'll be delighted to learn it worked, a perfect sphere shaped hole in the ground with nothing but a small pile of ash at the bottom."  
"Good to know," he replied emotionlessly before sucking in air and releasing a stream of flame onto the corpses.

The seal in question was a combination of an explosive tag and elemental chakra, Shakuton in this instance. It would detonate as any explosive tag would but instead of an explosion it would release the chakra stored within. The effects would vary dependant on the chakra stored.

"Sukauto-san, how long?"  
"About five minutes, maybe six Kitsuchi-sama."

"Then we'd better be making our exit," he declared. Tri threw a pair of tags onto the corpses, each attached to a kunai. The fire igniting them both immediately, two red-hot spheres consumed the bodies in an instant and in a matter of seconds, the bodies were no more.

Most looked on in silence, impressed by the power of the tags as Tri quickly sealed away the bodies of Dorobou and Aoi, throwing Dorobou's to Kurotsuchi. "Let's move people," Kitsuchi barked.

-(*)-

"Tri-san," Kurotsuchi said moving next to him as they ran. "Kurotsuchi-san," he replied, he still seemed a little moody. "What happened to your summons? You seem unconcerned that they've seemingly vanished into thin air."  
"It's what they do. Part of our agreement was that they'd retain a great deal of autonomy. So while they do as I ask - the moment they're done, they're gone."  
"Back to whatever it was you had them doing before?"  
"Indeed," he bluntly spoke. She could tell there was no way she'd get an answer to any question pertaining to that.

They'd been on the move for nearly an hour, steadily heading southwards towards the Kaze no Kuni border. "So," she awkwardly said.  
"So," he awkwardly replied.

"Why don't you like festivals?" she suddenly asked. He gave a resignated sigh but nevertheless answered, "I don't like crowds, amongst other things."  
"Amongst other things?"

"Yeah... Naruto wasn't kidding when he said I didn't like wearing Kimonos or Yukatas. I loathe both - they're just so unwieldy and made with far more material than is necessary," he griped, something she gave an amused chuckle at.

"Oh don't give me that look," she chided him after noticing the scowl he was giving her. "You need to be able to put the kunai down every now and then, you'll burn out otherwise – or snap, whichever comes first. It's better than staring at your wall – whatever Itachi meant by that. What did he mean by that?"

"A while back I found a Fūinjutsu design that has since utterly stumped me. Since finding it I've had an enlarged copy stuck to one of my bedroom walls. For all the hours I've spent on it I've not been able to decipher anything about it"  
"Nothing at all?"  
"Not a thing."

"Aren't your parents both really good with Fūinjutsu?"  
"They are, both are better than me but even they can't figure anything out."  
"Perhaps it'll come to you in time," she tried to sound supportive even if she was clutching at straws. "I can hope."

"It's not natural, Itachi."  
"Why? Because Kurotsuchi-san is able to actually get answers to questions she asks?"  
"Exactly, it's not natural."  
"No, Naruto, it is. He just knows that answering questions from you is likely to see you poke fun at him so he doesn't answer them," Itachi explained, both of them looking over their shoulders at the two conversing Shinobi behind them.

"I can sense an abnormality of some sort up ahead," Sukauto said to Kitsuchi. Naruto and Itachi weren't really paying attention.

"Besides, you know him well enough to have learnt his mannerisms by now. You know how defensive he can get. In some ways he's the antithesis of you, you love mingling at parties, festivals and the like, he doesn't. So come the Natsu Festival, you will leave him and Sakura-san well alone."  
"Oh come on Itach…"  
"No, zip it!" the Uchiha grunted. "If I hear you've been poking your nose in then I'll be using you for shuriken practice." Naruto shuddered, he knew Itachi wasn't kidding. "Fine," he relented, not fancying being turned into a target post.

Naruto was about to say something else when time seemed to slow for them all. They were in the midst of jumping atop a small flat-topped outcrop of rock.

On top of the rocky plateau directly across from them were a roughly similar number of unknowns. Each group spotted the other, each group's eyes sought out the others Hitai-ate's. Each quickly found them, Konoha and Iwa stared down Ishi and vice-versa. In an instant, all hell broke loose.

Itachi and Naruto, who had taken point when they'd departed were the first to react. Itachi plunging two kunai into the chest of an Ishi Kunoichi who never had the chance to raise her own weapons to defend herself. Naruto was only a moment behind, blocking another's attempt to strike at Itachi.

Battle was quickly joined, the engagement quickly spreading out to cover a far larger area, the Shinobi all finding themselves split into smaller groups.

Naruto and Kurotsuchi were one such smaller group, both unsure of quite how they ended up separated from everyone else. Arrayed against them were three Ishi nin. No words were exchanged, only the sounds of clashing metal and the pained exclamations of the wounded and dying filled the air.

Naruto ducked under a kunai backslash, immediately responding with a fierce punch to the gut, his fist striking deep into his opponent's abdomen. They stumbled back, their head dropping a little as the air was knocked out of them. Naruto followed up with a vicious knee to the jaw, the Ishi nin's head snapped back violently, their teeth crashing together with an echoing crack.

He knew his opponent was only dazed but the other two working together against Kurotsuchi was a more pressing concern, bringing his eyes around to the three of them he knew he couldn't reach her in time.

As the blonde was dealing with the third, Kurotsuchi, a kunai in her right hand was defensively weaving through the attacks thrown her way, but they were all coming from just one opponent. She'd lost track of the second as they tried to get around behind her.

They waited a few brief moments, waiting for an opening to strike. They spotted it and rushed forward. Held horizontally in front of them was a long, narrow blade with a serrated edge ready to plunge into Kurotsuchi's back. Further defensive actions turned her around slightly, it brought the one she'd lost and their sword into view, she didn't have enough time to dodge or block.

She closed her eyes and awaited the impending agony of the blade drilling into her flesh.

 ***Shlick***

She recognised the sound of sharpened metal penetrating flesh and bone, but she felt nothing. Opening her eyes she gasped. The one poised to strike her down had stopped moving, the tip of their blade not two feet from her. But a second sword was now buried to the hilt in their skull, it had gone in through the back of their head and emerged through their left eye, it was a gruesome sight.

She knew they were already dead, the sole remaining eye was glazed over and dimming, there wasn't a single drop of blood as they crumpled to the ground. She wasn't the only one stunned into immobility, her second opponent still remained but not for long. They had no time to react as Naruto appeared in front of them, Kuchibashi in hand as he literally cleaved them in two with his chakra imbued sword.

' _He threw his sword,_ ' she mentally said to herself. "You ok?" he asked stepping in front of her so her eyes would focus on him. "Uh yeah," she managed to quietly say. "Thank goodne…" Naruto was cut off as Kurotsuchi's hand, the one wielding the kunai moved.

He could actually fell the minimal airwave the kunai gave off as it streaked past within centimetres of his ear. He spun as he heard a pained grunt behind him, he spun in time to see the third Ishi nin, the one he'd kneed fall to the ground, the kunai embedded deep enough in his chest to penetrate the heart.

He silently berated himself for forgetting but he's seen the imminent threat to Kurotsuchi and reacted to that instinctively.

"And that makes us even today," she said taking a few steps towards him. She wasn't quite sure why given the situation she currently found herself in but the words 'Don't be afraid to force the issue' reverberated in her mind. She decided to heed the words advice. Quickly looking around to see if anyone else was within eyeshot she leaned up on her top-toes and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you," she said before rushing off to help the others. Naruto on the other hand just stood there dumbly, utterly amazed by what had just happened. He couldn't prevent his hand from lifting up to his face, lightly running over where her lips had met his skin, "Wow," he whispered.

"Hurry up you dummy. We ain't finished yet!" he heard her shout back. That was sufficient to snap him out of his reverie, "Oh right, yeah," he giggled to himself. He knelt down and carefully withdrew Kagizume from the Ishi nin's skull, after which he shot off after her.

He quickly caught her and both were surprised by just how far they'd ended up from the others. The impromptu battle was over by the time they returned, and the battle site truly looked the part. There were pools and splatters of red blood all over the place, an arm was missing the rest of its body, corpses littered the outcrop of stone.

But that wasn't what pulled the attention of the two of them. Instead, their eyes and ears were drawn towards Tri who was rather voraciously berating Itachi.

"What on earth were you thinking?" he angrily demanded of the Uchiha.

"Tri, what's wrong?" Naruto tentatively asked. An angry Tri had to be handled with caution. "What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong!"

-(*)-

 **A few minutes earlier**

They'd lost track of Naruto, Kurotsuchi and many of the others, only Shinsuke and one of the Iwa Kunoichi remained with himself and Tri, they were still on the rocky outcrop they'd made contact on. They'd thought there was only 12 to 15 Ishi nin but that was quickly put to rest as another Ishi team revealed themselves.

The four of them were now found themselves against seven Ishi nin. The fight against them, however, wouldn't prove to be their greatest concern, that would choose to reveal itself at the worst possible moment.

Itachi with his tantō in hand was harrying a Kunoichi hard, with a kunai in each of her hands she struggled to parry, block or dodge Itachi's rapid strikes with the short bladed weapon. Then he choked back a cough, ' _Oh no, not now,_ ' he pleaded in alarm.

He kept up his offensive picking up the pace, now trying to force a kill. And by forcing the issue his strikes became sloppy, another choked cough provided his opponent with an opportunity and went on the offensive herself forcing him back.

Another cough, much more powerful than those before dropped him to one knee.

Tri a few feet away using his Sharingan saw in slow-motion Itachi's attacks go from fluid to awkward to awful in mere moments. When he dropped to one knee he knew he had to react or he'd be carrying him home in a scroll.

The Kunoichi stood over Itachi, a grin on her face as she raised a kunai ready to strike him down, she didn't understand why her quarry had dropped to one knee but then she didn't really care. Her arm fell, closing in on Itachi's head, the Uchiha's cough now debilitating as he was wracked by them one after another. Her arm descended further, closer and closer until it passed Itachi's head altogether.

It kept going until it hit the floor. The Kunoichi was confused, her confusion suppressed her pain receptors for a few moments, then it hit her all at once. She dropped to her knees screaming in pain clutching at the shoulder where her right arm used to be. "I'm sorry my dear but I need this one alive," was spoken to her but she paid no heed, her pain soon came to an end.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Tri harshly questioned as Itachi managed to bring the hoarse coughing fit under control. "Look out!" Itachi heard although he didn't know who'd said it. By the time he was able to speak again Tri was no longer standing over him, he'd had to get back into the fray as he'd momentarily left Shinsuke and the Iwa Kunoichi against five Ishi nin.

Itachi managed to pull himself back to his feet, he was breathing hoarsely as he did, it felt like he swallowed a handful of Genma-sensei's senbon. He'd covered his mouth with a hand when it had started and now he pulled it back, he winced at the droplets of red staining his palm.

With his breath returned he also returned to the fray catching one completely off-guard by shunshining behind him. Itachi's tantō was angled upwards, the weapon first penetrating their lower back and quickly reaching a lung. They would drown in his own blood.

With the four of them back in action, they were able to soon overcome the disadvantage of numbers and soon slew the final Ishi nin, credit where it was due – none of them ran. But that wasn't before they suffered an injury.

With the fight over Shinsuke dropped to the floor, he'd received a mean looking cut on his left-hand side, part of his shirt covered in blood. The Iwa Kunoichi who'd been with them immediately began tending to him as some of the others returned.

"Shinsuke-san, what happened?" Itachi asked him, he figured now that he'd been the one to shout out earlier. "The lady here," he started, pointing to the petite Kunoichi seeing to his wound, "was busy with two of them, she blocked and repelled one but lost track - I think - of the second. So in my infinite wisdom instead of taking them out, I pushed her out of the way and got kunai'd in her place."

"And while very selfless of you, it was very stupid. Now stop talking so I can heal this," the young woman said. "Far from your smartest decision Shinsuke-san but a commendable one."  
"See, I thought so to… AH!" he suddenly yelped. "I told you to be quiet now shush," she chastised him. He gave her a face more akin to that of a scolded dog but he did keep his mouth shut this time.

Then Tri's shouting started.

"Itachi, you'd better start explaining," Tri demanded.

-(*)-

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. So let me get this straight. You've had this intermittent illness for over a year!?" stated a perplexed Naruto having listened to Tri explain the situation. "And you never once went to see Tsunade-sama about it? Have you completely lost your mind?"

By the time Tri had explained the situation, everybody else had returned. Astoundingly Shinsuke's wound proved to be the most serious, everyone else barring a few scrapes and bruises was fine. They all watched on as two members of the Prodigal Three lambasted the third.

Itachi's verbal dressing down continued as Kitsuchi turned to Sukauto. "What the hell happened? How did you not sense nearly twenty Ishi Shinobi?"  
"I-I'm at a loss Kitsuchi-sama. I genuinely can't explain it, I could only sense increased chakra levels in the area but nothing specific, it could have been us for all I knew."

"Have you ever encountered anything like this or read of any phenomena that might explain it?" Sukauto shook his head glumly, "I've never come across anything like it."

"Is it still present now or has it vanished?" a listening in Suzushii asked. Again Sukauto shook his head, "No it's gone now. I'm unsure as to exactly when it ceased but it was present just before we engaged the Ishi nin."

"Did anybody see anything out of the ordinary that might have been responsible or played a part?" Kitsuchi asked more in hope than anything else. He groaned as they all shook their heads, "This mission just keeps getting more bizarre," he bemoaned.

"So if Itachi has a major problem how do we proceed?" Hana asked the two brothers who'd seemed to have finished shouting at the Uchiha clan heir. "The plan doesn't change, we go south into Kaze no Kuni then east back to Hi no Kuni. The only difference will be us dropping Itachi off in Konoha while we return to Iwa."

Tri picked up where Naruto left off, "More specifically we'll be dropping Itachi in the lobby of Konoha hospital. And out of respect for you Itachi I won't be assuming command of your team on medical grounds even though I'm well within my right to do so until we've got you back to Konoha." Itachi sullenly nodded

Naruto knelt down next to Shinsuke and the Iwa medic. "Will he be alright to move?" he asked her as she finished tying a bandage around the wound. "As long as you don't push him too hard he'll be alright. I've sealed and mostly healed the wound but anything too strenuous may open the wound again." He gave her his thanks as he slowly pulled Shinsuke to his feet.

"My thanks mi' lady," Shinsuke flirtatiously thanked the short young woman.

-(*)-

 **A few Days later**

"The finer details will be provided in my full report Tsuchikage-sama," Kurotsuchi finished. She was stood before her grandfather in his office. Her team was stood behind her while the Konoha Shinobi stood off to the side.

"Thank you Kurotsuchi-chan," he replied as he stood from his chair. He made his way in front of his desk, floating a few inches off the ground the whole way.

"While my granddaughter alluded to the reasons briefly, I wanted to ask you exactly why your two members down?"  
"Uchiha Itachi was discovered to have an underlying health concern that he'd neglected to have investigated by medical professionals so we dumped him in Konoha hospital on our way back here."

"Oh, I can't imagine that pleased Tsunade-hime very much."  
"That is an understatement. We dropped him off in her office and after quickly bringing her up to speed she demanded we leave them, she looked pretty upset at the time. Not even revealing we'd recovered the Raijin no Ken seemed to help much." Ōnoki allowed himself a brief laugh.

As for the second one, Shinsuke-san was wounded in the engagement with the Ishi-nin – my thanks to the quick and effective work of your medic," he added inclining his head respectfully in her direction. "But we felt it best to leave him to properly recover rather than have him travel with us." The elderly Kage nodded in understanding and with his questions answered returned to his desk.

The assembled Shinobi collectively discussed a few more things, including how Sukauto couldn't sense the Ishi squads, frustratingly not even Ōnoki could provide any answers. Ōnoki had also never heard the name Pein before either. But before long it was time for them to depart.

The Tsuchikage had specifically chosen to personally see them off in full view of the citizens of Iwagakure.

He wasn't ignorant to the fact that the people of his village would probably never let go of the animosity towards Minato, he'd probably never fully forgive him either but he didn't hate the man anymore. But that didn't mean he had to hate Minato's descendants, what would be the point?

And it wasn't just him who sought better relations with Konoha and by extension Hi no Kuni. Over the past two or so years he'd been politically pressured to seek ways of improving those relations from the only person Ōnoki was answerable to - the Daimyō of Tsuchi no Kuni. The founding of a firm friendship with the relatively young Daimyō of Hi no Kuni was the cause.

The short old man stepped – well hovered forward. He extended out his hand, Tri extended his own and in full view of a growing crowd shook hands.

"My thanks to your team and your village for aiding in the retrieval of the Iwa Tsue," Ōnoki loudly declared.

"And my thanks to your team and your village for aiding in the retrieval of the Raijin no Ken," Tri loudly replied.

Both had spoken loudly enough for everybody watching on to hear, Ōnoki knew news of this would have spread across the village by the end of the day. Tri had recognised Ōnoki's actions, his time with the Jūnishi had taught him some of the finer points of politics, he knew when someone was making a statement.

After Tri Ōnoki shook hands with Naruto, Hana and Suzushii, bidding them all a safe journey home, Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi did the same, in fact, all the Iwa shinobi they'd done the mission with did. But now it meant more for some of them, now they were now saying goodbye to comrades and dare they say it, friends?

With everyone paying attention to Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi shaking hands with the sons of the Yondaime Hokage, no one saw the short Kunoichi medic slip a letter into Suzushii's pouch addressed to Shinsuke mere moments before they turned to leave.

A quick look to his right as the Konoha squad shrank into the distance made Ōnoki snort in amusement. "Oh don't look so downcast granddaughter. I expect you'll be seeing them again before long. She turned her head to stare at him, "I slipped Naruto a letter for his father. I expect it shan't be long until we nail down the date for the next diplomatic exchange."

-(*)-

"I wasn't expecting them to see us off like that," Hana said, a little surprise still evident in her voice, she wasn't the only one. "It was a rather pleasant surprise that can only be seen as positive," Suzushii added.

"Positive certainly, even if it was deliberate," Naruto pointed out. "What do you mean Naruto?" Hana asked. "The handshakes in full view, the official and carefully worded statements loud enough for all to hear, the presence of all three members of the Tsuchikage family. They were making a statement – no a declaration.

"'The relations between Iwagakure and Konohagakure will continue to improve. Get used to it'."

"That – actually makes a lot of sense," Suzushii noted. "The good news doesn't end there either," Naruto joyously said. This time the two Chūnin didn't have a clue, "Why?" Hana finally asked after seeing he wasn't going to tell them without being prompted. "This mission - the moment we ran into the Ishi nin became classified."  
"Yes... And?"

"Tri, if you would," Naruto smirked, the Uzumaki rolling his eyes. "As Naruto said this mission is now classified, in Konoha classified missions are automatically raised to an S-Rank mission rating."  
"Which means?" Naruto butted in. "Which means you'll be getting paid for completing an S-Rank mission. Your 100,000 Ryo payment will be bumped up to around a million."

"Yay!" Naruto cheered.

* * *

End Chapter


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

* * *

 **Review Replies**

 **Chuck17** – Whoops, thanks for the spot, change made.

Hey all, this chapter has a scene that skirts the boundary between orange and lime so while it's a far cry from a full-blown lemon I thought I'd let you know, Foretold is forewarned and all. Enjoy!

* * *

A Day in the life of - Itachi

The door to Itachi's temporary room opened, "Alright Itachi, I'm discharging you today but there are a few conditions I'm going to impose on you and you _will_ follow them," Tsunade firmly stated as she strode into the room. Itachi remained sat on the edge of the bed he'd been confined to for the previous week.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama," he replied in a monotone voice, he deliberately tried to sound as neutral of tone as possible, he really didn't want to get shouted at by her again. "The first condition; you will henceforth present yourself to either me or Shizune once a month minimum for follow up checks to ensure you are still healthy." He just nodded.

"The second condition," she continued apace. "If you so much as splutter when you shouldn't, you are again immediately required to present yourself again to either me or Shizune," he nodded again.

"And the third and final condition. If I so much as suspect you're withholding health problems from me again I'll have you pulled from active service for far longer than you'd like. The Hokage has already given me permission to do so." Again, he just nodded in silence.

The firm and fierce look on her face faded away, replaced by something akin to compassion. She moved next to the bed and sat down next to him on the mattress. "Like I told you the other day, another month or two and it would have become terminal, I'd have only been able to prolong your life at that point. You're too important to too many people to throw your life away because you refused to get help."

There was a question she hadn't yet asked him, a question she'd put it off until he was healed. "Itachi-san, why didn't you tell anyone?"  
"There were more pressing matters for me to concern myself with," he answered following a long moment of silence. "You're talking about your mother?" she asked him. "Yes," he replied.

Tsunade sighed. She'd done a little digging already, she wasn't sure but had a feeling it would relate to his sole remaining parent. Whenever Itachi wasn't on missions he spent a great deal of his free time keeping an eye on Mikoto. His worries weren't without justification either.

"Itachi, just because your mother isn't well doesn't mean you should neglect your own health. You can't care for her if you're in the hospital – or worse."

He didn't argue against her, he knew the veteran medic was right. Every reason he'd come up with to not seek medical treatment, while good enough justification for himself would be woefully insufficient for Tsunade.

"Do you understand what I mean?"  
"Hai, Tsunade-sama."  
"Ok then Itachi, you're free to go. Just remember you're off duty for the next fortnight, keep your training light, your lungs will feel rather raw until they fully heal."

She stood, gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and departed the room, closing the door behind her so he could get out of the hospital robes and back into his everyday clothing kindly brought by Izumi for him.

As he dressed Itachi thought through everything that had happened since Tri and Naruto had forced him to the hospital.

After arriving and a brief explanation from Tri, Tsunade set to work scanning Itachi with a medical Ninjutsu that inspected the Uchiha's body. It took her about ten seconds to find the problem, her hands holding station over Itachi's chest.

Within an hour he was laid back on a surgeons table, a team of experienced medic nin hastily assembled by Tsunade surrounding him. And while the procedure wasn't invasive in any way – well, not in the sense of scalpels and tongs; Tsunade and the others spent almost six hours on him.

It was only after the Medics had finished than Tsunade actually sat him down and explain what had been afflicting him for over a year.

She spoke with purpose, not a single word she said was unnecessary, her explanations were concise yet informative. Itachi had developed an aggressive Lung cancer, it was that aggressiveness that was responsible for its rapid development.

The next day he was back on that same surgery table, it was the same for the two days after that, making for four days in total – several hours each day extracting the cancerous cells and accelerating the division of the healthy ones. It was only then that Tsunade announced him as healthy once more.

While he was relieved to be rid of it, she was quick to inform him that for the rest of his life there would always remain the possibility of him relapsing, hence the monthly check-ups. After she'd told him this, she allowed him visitors.

The ever-dependable Izumi was the first to visit, turning up within an hour of his being permitted visitors. He had absolutely no idea how she'd found out quite so quickly, although he could actually envision her incessantly pestering Tsunade for when she could go and see him.

She had immediately chastised him for not going to a medical expert, and for not going of his own accord. He knew she was only doing it because he'd worried her, because she cared; she wasn't the only one either. His former Genin teammates, his entire ANBU team, they all cared, while it made feel a little better, it made him feel a fool.

All five of them had stopped by while he was stuck in a bed, the three other members of Team Ro dropping by individually over the course of two days. Tri, Naruto along with Hana and Suzushii returned from Iwagakure yesterday, so they paid him a brief visit.

But there was one person – well two who hadn't come to see him, now that he had been discharged he would be going to see them. He couldn't suppress the sigh that escaped his throat as he left via the standard Shinobi hospital exit - the window.

The first of the two was his younger sibling, someone who hadn't said a single word to him since the purge, but he wasn't expecting him to visit anyway. The second, however, was his mother, he'd silently hoped she would show but alas no.

He passed the time it took him to travel from the hospital to the family home by mentally preparing himself, these visits were never pleasant, he'd come to dread them but he still persevered.

With a final deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited.

-(*)-

"I'll go see who that is at the door, Mikoto-sama," a kindly, elderly female voice said to the un-distracted woman. The old woman wasn't as spritely as she was during her many years as a Shinobi so she could only slowly shuffle her way towards the front door, the bottom of her walking stick clicking against the wooden floors. She had a good idea who it was since they didn't knock a second time.

It took her almost a minute to reach the door. Slowly opening it she was greeted to the sight of Itachi leaning against a wooden support, his arms folded in front of him. "Itachi-sama, welcome," she cheerfully greeted, the two exchanging a brief hug.

"Hello Tetsudai-sama [ **1** ] and I've told you, you don't need to use the Sama honorific for me, it feels weird," he greeted her in return. "And I've told you just as often young man that I'll drop the honorific as soon as you do," she reminded him with a smirk.

He always seemed to forget that, so much so in fact that Tetsudai was becoming more and more convinced that he humoured her by doing it deliberately.

She stepped aside to let him in, "How is she?" he tentatively asked as she shut the door. "No change I'm afraid, she's still buried up to the neck in the tasks of running a clan and general paperwork," she answered as she began to lead him through the house.

"Is she eating and sleeping properly?"  
"Absolutely, you know those are the two things I refuse to budge on, even if I have to force her to eat and have to drag her to her bed and restrain her in it," she said firmly. "Good," he said, a little relief slipping through in his voice.

"I'm just glad to see you well Itachi-sama, Tsunade-sama's number two Shizune-san stopped by to let me know you weren't well, it sounded very serious."  
"Arigatou, Tetsudai-sama. And yes, it was serious but thankfully Tsunade-sama and her medical staff were able to make me healthy again."  
"That's a relief to hear, I informed Mikoto-sama of your condition…"

"Did she react at all?" he butted in hopefully. She turned to face him and slowly, sombrely shook her head. His head dropped, "I thought as much," he sounded dejected as he lifted his head again. He put on a brave face, "Is Sasuke-kun home?" he next asked.

"No, he's out with his Genin team. I've heard some amusing things through the grape-vine about one of his teammates, the Nara girl. Apparently, the girl's put a leash on him so to speak so he can't act out," she chuckled.

Down the corridor they went, past Sasuke's room, past Itachi's old room; Itachi no longer lived here, Tetsudai now used his room. At the end of the corridor was a small square room, it used to be his father's personal office although he never used it, now it served it's intended purpose for his mother.

And it was in that office that Uchiha Mikoto could always be found, sat behind her desk tirelessly working through a never-ending mountain of paperwork. She was thinner than she once was, her cheeks looked hollow, her skin was an unhealthy pale white. Her exposed arms lacked the subtle muscle definition present in nearly all Kunoichi, despite having not taken a mission in some twenty years she always kept herself in shape, but no more.

Despite her eldest son's appearance she never lifted her head from the documents in front of her, her eyes never leaving the words written on them. Even Itachi walking around the desk, giving her a kiss on the head and a hug did nothing, she was completely unresponsive.

The towers of paper were piled atop the desk, if you were to look closely she'd see a slight dip in the middle of the table top, so heavy was the combined weight of paperwork. Itachi could only see his mother's face through a gap in the accumulated mass of paper.

Tetsudai leaned against the door-frame and watched as Itachi took a breath and began telling her about his latest mission - leaving out the classified parts, and his week-long stint in the hospital. She didn't say a word, she never spoke anymore.

As he continued to speak Tetsudai was reminded of the few occasions she looked after a very young Itachi. She knew Mikoto hated being away from her children for any length of time, She was utterly devoted to him and to Sasuke when he was born some five years later. To see what she had now become broke her heart. It reminded her far too much of the tragedy plays she loved watching at the theatre.

In the immediate aftermath of the Uchiha purge, Mikoto had shouldered the vast responsibilities of running a clan and threw herself into the huge task of re-organising the clan and re-establishing it's shattered reputation. It meant many long, stressful nights, sometimes continuing to work until the sun rose again.

But she persevered and pushed on, her third child - believed to be a daughter was her primary source of motivation, she wanted her third child to be born into an Uchiha clan free of that dark cloud that had hung over it for generations like a malicious fog.

It was clear to see it was having a negative impact on her health, she was losing weight because she wasn't eating properly, the bags under her eyes grew darker and larger over time due to lack of sleep. This was all doubly alarming because Mikoto was pregnant.

The weeks went by and the stress on her kept building. Her vast workload; Itachi's guilt eventually forcing him to move out and Sasuke's constant hostility towards everything and everyone kept her under constant pressure, it was ceaseless.

Then it happened, one day it all caught up with her. Mikoto collapsed with severe stomach pains and was quickly rushed to the hospital. Bar the stomach pains Mikoto was physically ok, it soon became apparent that Mikoto herself wasn't the concern.

It then fell to Tsunade, a tearful Shizune by her side to complete the unenviable task of informing Mikoto that she had miscarried, that she had lost her daughter.

Those few words, that was all it took to contort Mikoto's mind to its breaking point, her mental state shattered and fragmented. She just seemed to stop functioning, even before being discharged there were serious concerns. They became apparent after she was sent home, while she would chew through paperwork tirelessly and attend to the requirements of the clan but she'd stopped eating altogether and would only sleep when she passed out from sheer exhaustion at her desk.

It quickly became clear that she wasn't able to care for herself.

The reformed Uchiha clan council convened and quickly came to a decision. They assigned Uchiha Tetsudai as Mikoto's personal carer. The elderly woman was a veteran of the first and second Shinobi world wars. She was approaching her 80th birthday and had retired from active duty over fifteen years ago.

But of all the Shinobi who lived to see the twilight years of retirement, most agreed on one thing; retirement was boring. Tetsudai accepted the position in short order. It gave her something to fill her days and allow her to continue contributing to the clan in a beneficial manner.

Her task of seeing to Mikoto's needs meant she now pretty much lived in the house. She received some tutelage from Tsunade and a few mental health experts in the hope she may be able to undo some of the damage.

She regularly tried to engage in conversation with Mikoto but was yet to receive a single word in reply. Despite that Tetsudai was absolutely convinced she had heard every word, that she could still comprehend her surroundings and was aware of anything said to her.

So as she watched Itachi continue to talk to her, she was sure she was listening to every word he said but just wasn't reacting, as if she were trapped in her own body.

Itachi spoke for nearly an hour, the whole time Mikoto just worked through the seemingly endless paperwork, piled high in towers that could rival those of the Hokage.

Tetsudai recognised that his talking to her meant he still communicated with her more than he did with Sasuke. Since becoming Mikoto's carer she'd never seen the two siblings say a word to each other. This household was one of silence. Whenever they crossed paths Itachi would grow melancholic while Sasuke would become visibly hostile.

She almost didn't notice that Itachi had stood again, it was only when he was stood next to her that she realised. It was about time anyway, his visits always seemed to last a little over an hour then he'd leave. She couldn't miss that disconsolate look in his eyes, it was present every time he left.

"Thank you Tetsudai-sama. I-I'm finished," he said to her. While not the tallest he was still nearly half a foot taller than she was and at the peak of his physical prime. But right now she would fancy beating Itachi in a one on one fight, he looked so – drained.

And if asked, Itachi probably would have agreed as he knelt down at the door to slip his sandals back on. Every time he left following a visit, he felt utterly exhausted from having to contain his emotions. He was well known as someone who had a tight grip on his emotions but whenever he visited he had to strangle them to keep them under control. He'd simply burst into tears if he didn't.

"Thank you Tetsudai-sama," he said as he stood, his voice normally passive and neutral in tone was beginning to crack. "No problem Itachi-sama, thank you for your visit. I'm sure your Kaa-san appreciates it even if she doesn't show it," she said trying her best to cheer him up. He only nodded and then left.

He took a page out of Tri's book back in the immediate aftermath of his suspension and just walked aimlessly around Konoha for hours. The sun had was in the early stages of setting by the time he decided he'd had enough. He set a course for what was now his home.

-(*)-

He slid his key into the door, a counter-clockwise twist of the wrist releasing the automatic locking mechanism, opening the door he stepped inside. Closing the door behind him he placed his key on a hook on the wall, the second hook was vacant, he was the only one here. Entering through the front door immediately put you in the front room.

First removing his sandals and depositing them on a shoe rack he dragged his feet across the carpet and slumped down onto the sofa.

He was leant forward, his head resting on his balled-up fists as he stared at the floor. The cracks in his emotional barriers widened as the guilt and sorrow forced its way out from his sub-conscious. Silent tears streaked down his cheeks.

The room darkened as the sun continued to set but Itachi remained unmoved, the tears dripping from his face, the light blue carpet discolouring slightly from the moisture. Not even the opening and shutting of the front door was sufficient to draw his attention.

"Itachi-kun?" a female voice called to him as she flicked the switch on a nearby lamp. "Oh, Itachi-kun," Izumi sighed as the light brought him into sight. "You went to visit your Kaa-san?" she gently asked sitting down next to him, he nodded miserably.

She shuffled a little closer to him and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him to her placing his head in the crook of her neck and supportively held him as his tears became sobs.

Leaning her head atop his she ran a comforting hand gently through his long black hair whilst staring at the wall. She wished this was a rare occurrence but it wasn't. This was a process they'd repeated numerous times, it was the same every time he visited his mother, he'd return in a desolate mood and wouldn't improve until he'd vented all his suppressed emotions.

"It's ok Itachi-kun, let it all out," she said tenderly.

Despite her previous experience of dealing with an upset Itachi it still felt surreal. For so long he had been the one to support her, to provide a shoulder for her to cry on but now their roles were more often than not reversed.

The moment he had confided in her that he simply couldn't stay at home anymore she'd in effect demanded he move in with her and after some stern persuasion he caved and moved in. She didn't care that her apartment only had one bedroom while Itachi had completely forgotten that fact.

That first night wasn't pleasant, she had never seen Itachi in such a state. He was inconsolable as the guilt weighed heavy on his shoulders. In his own words, he felt responsible for tearing his family apart, for his mother's condition, for his brother's hatred of anything and everything.

Izumi had immediately come down on him for that, assertively arguing that he was no more responsible than she was and that the guilt lay firmly and solely with Fugaku.

The current state Itachi was in, crying on her shoulder made her hate the former Uchiha clan head all the more. ' _Self-serving, spiteful, treasonous prick,'_ she thought venomously.

It took her nearly an hour to calm him down, and that was only because he'd cried himself out. With a pair of fingers under his chin, she gently lifted his head from her shoulder. With a tissue in her other hand, she wiped away the tear streaks on his cheeks and dabbed around his bloodshot, puffy eyes.

"Well Itachi-kun, you look just terrible," she said with a smile, she succeeded in getting a weak smile in return. "Why don't you go jump in the shower and I'll throw some food together," she suggested. "Ok," he quietly replied in a hoarse voice. "Good boy. First, though I'm gonna go change my shirt, it's rather damp now," she lightly laughed.

Itachi's head dropped in embarrassment, "Sorry he muttered.

She lifted his head by the chin again, "Itachi-kun, you don't owe me any apologies, ok?" she replied before leaning forward to kiss him on the forehead. "Besides I know you'll do almost anything to get me out of my clothes," she joked, he weakly smiled again. "Now go on, shower," she punctuated with a raised arm pointing towards the bathroom before walking to her bedroom.

The bathroom was at the end of the apartments single corridor, past the sole bedroom so Itachi ended up following her up the corridor. She pulled her shirt off, utterly unconcerned about being topless being in full view of Itachi, throwing the shirt into a hamper as she turned off the corridor.

When he re-emerged from the bathroom a while later, Itachi liked to take his time showering, he found Izumi busying around the small kitchen come diner. A small cooker against one wall was surrounded by cabinets and work surfaces. The opposite wall had a small rectangular table large enough for only two people that looked out the kitchen window.

"Will be about ten minutes. Can you keep an eye on it while I quickly jump in the shower?"  
"Sure," he responded, the neutral, stoic tone of his voice was already beginning to reassert itself. "Thanks," she said rushing from the kitchen.

She was much quicker showering than he was so it was only a few minutes before she returned, her hair wrapped in a fluffy white towel. Itachi was in the process of moving pork cutlets from the grill to a pair of plates, the meat was accompanied by some boiled veg and rice.

She slid into her chair at the table just as Itachi placed the filled plate in front of her. "Thank you," she said as Itachi slotted in next to her.

The table, while small was just big enough for the both of them, neither of them went for the platter spread across multiple plates approach many in Konoha preferred. But then it was more than just the kitchen table that was on the small side, the apartment as a whole was small. What appealed to Izumi was the location more than anything, it was near the mission hall and both the Chūnin and Jōnin stations.

The apartment comprised a front room, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen/ diner, a short corridor and a small storage cupboard. Even with so little room, neither was hurting for space, Shinobi, in general, tended to own little in the way of material possessions.

"How was your mission?" Itachi asked pushing his now empty plate away. "Bog standard, tedious escort mission I'm afraid. Was much shorter than I thought too, only took two hours."  
"What? Who on earth hired a Shinobi squad for a two-hour escort mission?" Itachi asked, completely bemused. "Rich civilian merchant with a high opinion of himself and…"  
"…More money than sense?" Itachi guessed, "Bingo," she said with a nod. Every Shinobi was subjected to such a client at least once in their career and all disliked them deeply.

"Didn't help that the fool wouldn't shut his trap either. Constantly badgering on about how we must be desperate to willingly put our lives on the line as often as we do for so little money."  
"I presume he was only taking into account that he was paying for a C-Rank mission.  
"And that he was unaware he didn't justify a B-Rank rating. Not that he needed a squad at all, our destination was well within the patrolled zone," she irritably muttered shaking her head.

"It's easy money though, it'll pay your half of the rent."  
"I suppose, falls short of your latest pay-check thought," she complained.

"Now in my defence, it wasn't supposed to be an S-Rank, but for reasons I can't divulge, it was bumped up to S-Rank."  
"I know, I know, I'm only joking with you but still, a million Ryo wouldn't go amiss. I could have a proper holiday with that," she lamented as she slipped out of her chair picking up both plates as she went.

"If a proper holiday is what you want then take one, I'm more than happy to pay for it," he offered, picking up a tea-towel ready to dry the plates and other dirty utensils as Izumi cleaned them. She didn't reply until she'd finished cleaning the last item and dried her hands. "Thank you Itachi-kun, that's very generous of you but I couldn't do that," she thanked him with a kiss on the cheek.

"How long are you being kept off the duty roster?" she asked. "Tsunade-sama said two weeks, she check me again after that then she'll decide if I'm healthy enough to return to active duty," he answered as he finished putting the now dry kitchenware away, folding the tea-towel and placing it back on the rack.

"Why do you ask?" he questioned as he turned around, he was greeted by Izumi's petite but beautiful face as she snaked her arms around his neck. "Because I've got the next two days off and after today I think we could both use a good pick me up," she whispered in his ear before kissing him on the lips.

Itachi soon found himself back in his chair, Izumi in his lap with her legs locked around his waist. Their lips finally parted as their need for oxygen temporarily overwhelmed their growing desire. "Carry me?" she seductively asked. Itachi rolled his eyes while smirking, she loved being carried around. With little effort he stood again, easily taking the weight of both of them.

After stopping once or twice along the way to make out again they finally reached the bed. Itachi bent forward slightly with the intent of laying her down on her back but Izumi was having none of it. Using her honed Shinobi flexibility and reflexes she in an instant managed to spin them around 180° and pull one of his legs out from under him.

It ended with Itachi on his back and Izumi straddling his lap. With a lascivious grin and Itachi's hands on her hips she grabbed the hem of her light, loose-fitting shirt and with both hands pulled it over her head, she wore nothing underneath. Casting the shirt aside she placed a hand down on either side of his head and leaned down to kiss him again.

-(*)-

Itachi's eyes drank in the view of the darkened bedroom ceiling, not quite as mesmerising as the sight of the nude woman lying next to him was, her slow, methodical breathing telling him she was fast asleep. But Itachi, much to his disconsternation broke the mould in the sense that most people after having sex fell asleep with ease, not so for him.

No, instead he got to enjoy staring at the ceiling for ages because it was normally a minimum of two hours before he would finally be able to fall asleep. But that wasn't to say it would be two hours wasted, getting laid was surprisingly effective at clearing the mind, it allowed him time to think clearly, without emotional bias influencing his thoughts.

Turning his gaze on the attractive, lithe young woman he had an arm around, her head resting on his chest. Both acknowledged they were not in a romantic relationship but everything else suggested otherwise. It was a bizarre state of affairs, they both lived together, ate together and slept together and while bizarre, Itachi had come to enjoy it greatly.

Back when Izumi had demanded he move in with her he was apprehensive, he didn't want to impose but acknowledged he was fighting a losing battle arguing against her and quickly conceded to her demands.

When he'd arrived he had expected nothing more than sleeping on the sofa or a temporary sleep mat until he found a place of his own.

But that first night Izumi had gotten him to open up emotionally, it had been bottling up for months and at the slightest crack in his mental barriers - flooded out. She'd later told him he'd wept on and off for hours, he couldn't remember that night at all.

The first thing he did remember was waking up the following morning in bed with Izumi, both still fully clothed after a night of using Izumi's breasts as a pillow – something she'd teased him about ever since. She'd had to quickly inform him that sleeping in the same bed was her idea as she didn't want to leave him on his own.

The second night he fell asleep in her arms again, again on the third, the fourth and so on. Ever since then if they were both home, they shared a bed, they'd both grown used to and attached to having a warm body next to them.

That wasn't to say they immediately started having sex, no, that's wouldn't first start until several months later. A particularly strenuous few weeks of non-stop missions finally came to an end, both were stressed out and were able to find much-sought relief in one another. Despite the peculiarity of their personal arrangement, both were comfortable with it.

It was nearing half a year since Itachi first moved in now and in that time he had developed a deeper, more profound appreciation for the woman next to him. She was already one of his closest confidants, he felt confident confiding in her matters he wouldn't have felt comfortable telling Naruto or Tri. Also she, as an Uchiha better understood the pressures that came with being an Uchiha.

His thought process led him back to a question he'd first asked himself a few weeks ago. 'What were his feelings towards Izumi?' or perhaps more appropriately, 'How deep did his feelings for Izumi run?'

He didn't think he knew nor understood what 'love' was, or at least love that wasn't platonic in nature. He enjoyed waking with someone next to him but that didn't strike him as sufficient to fall in love with someone.

He enjoyed her company, he got pleasure out of spending time with her but that was the case for a small number of people and he certainly wouldn't say he was in love with any of them.

He had found another way of looking at it, it was a little more morbid but worked well. 'Who could he live without?' He could foresee losing members of Team Ro, they were ANBU after all, fatalities went hand in hand with them.

Naruto and Tri would both be major loses but given time he felt he could come to terms with their deaths.

But when he applied that question to Izumi, Could he live without her? He grew anxious just thinking about it. Almost without realising, Izumi had become an integral part of his life. He sub-consciously tightened the arm he had around her, he didn't even notice he'd done so until she snuggled in closer, her head moving up to just under his collarbone.

' _Perhaps that feeling of anxiety is a sign of love?_ ' he asked himself, he was still unsure.

Shinobi were hardly well-versed in the art of love, there simply wasn't time to develop such an understanding. They became recognised adults when they graduated to Genin, their childhoods ended there and then, not that they had much of one to begin with.

And few found the time to engage in long-term romances as teenagers because they were conducting missions while undertaking their Chūnin Exams or Jōnin trials. As a result Shinobi relationships were fast, frantic affairs built less on emotions and more around needs.

There wasn't the time for multi-year courtships as was prevalent in civilian society. Shinobi died much younger, their life expectancy was only mid-thirties and that already low number plummeted during a conflict.

This combined with fact Shinobi weren't recruited like civilian soldiers were, they had to be produced. The low life expectancy and need to replace killed Ninja meant they reproduced young, There were few Kunoichi above the age of twenty-five who didn't have at least one child. It took fifteen to twenty years to replace a killed Shinobi with a fully trained replacement.

It's partly because of this that Minato was so hated in Iwagakure and why his killing of a thousand Iwa Shinobi was considered a national tragedy, it would take a generation to replace that thousand. The less Shinobi you had left over, the longer it took.

All in all Shinobi relationships were a complicated affair. But there was one thing Itachi was sure of, this was a matter that would require much more thought before he had his answer. He pulled the thin duvet a little tighter around them both and shortly after sleep finally found him.

* * *

End Chapter

[ **1** ] – Tetsudai is the Japanese word for Helper/ Assistant.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

* * *

Alrighty, we are back. Apologies for the three weeks since the last chapter, I had originally intended to have this chapter out last Friday but it simply wasn't finished. Not surprising really given this is the biggest chapter yet. The previous record of 11,000 or so words has now been trumped by this one's nearly 17,000.

As for why it took so long, a few reasons. Firstly, this chapter is technically two chapters I decided to merge into one. Like Itachi, Tri and Naruto were going to get their own filler chapters before we moved onto the Wave Arc but I felt there wasn't enough content for the Naruto chapter to give you all a decent length chapter. The second reason is chapter length.

The third reason is my new method for writing these. Where I used to write out a block and then re-read/ make alterations. I now write out a block which becomes a 'first draft', I then rewrite almost every single paragraph to include greater levels of detail. I feel this method greatly improves my work, the downside is that it takes longer, much longer since I am effectively writing each chapter out twice. So, unfortunately, you may have to get used to more 2/ 3-week gaps between chapter uploads.

Also we passed 350 Followers, which is very awesome. Thank you all.

* * *

 **Review Replies** :

Well, there's a fair few of these so lets bash through them. So in the order in which they were posted.

 **Ayannmalik** : Wow, there's a lot to read through there, so I'll tackle them one by one, thank you for the feedback. Firstly the Kenjutsu and Shurikenjutsu, yes both fields are strongly associated with the Uchiha clan, Shurikenjutsu especially. But that's because they were trained in it from the earliest possible age. Tri, not raised as an Uchiha child, retained the ability to choose where he invested his training hours, he chose others fields over them.

As for Tri being angry, he isn't angry at his being ignored, but instead at Naruto's being ignored. For the most part, yes, he is a calm, controlled individual but he is, occasionally, prone to bouts of extreme anger, that's the Uchiha side of his heritage surfacing.

As for why he's angry in the first place, I can kind of see where you're coming from, there are a few emotions that should probably surface before anger does so that whole section will likely get a major rework whenever I get around to re-mastering everything, the early chapters in particular need a lot of work.

Is Naruto OP? In a sense, yes. But all three of them either are or will be in the future. Is Mokuton the most powerful Kekkai Genkai? Arguably yes, but no Kekkai-Genkai is without weakness. A strong enough Katon Jutsu can burn away what is still, essentially wood, and if Katon is a campfire then Shakuton is a blast furnace. Hashirama was one of the strongest Shinobi in history, and his level of control over Mokuton was unparalleled, a level of control that Naruto may never replicate.

Really? I toned back on the amount of Tri in recent chapters because I felt there was a bit too much of him. He plays a more prominent role in the Wave arc than either Naruto and Itachi if that perks your interest, I'm not sure what else to say over your waning interest. Thank you again for your review/s.

 **Dragonball Shin** : Each to their own my friend, some prefer pre-established canon characters, some prefer OC's. There are a few good discussions on this on r/Fanfic.

 **Chuck17** : I wanted to do something with Mikoto, and I wanted Itachi's actions to have unforeseen consequences, but this plot point is not finished yet, it'll be one of Itachi's long-term story elements.  
Thanks for spotting this. A duplicate paragraph is exactly what it is. My new method of writing means I write out a bunch then rewrite the lot, occasionally I forget to delete a redundant paragraph. I've found a way to make it easier to identify first draft paragraphs so hopefully another won't slip through.

 **Newbie89** : Thank you friend, glad you're enjoying it.

 **Guest-1** : As there is more than one Guest review and I don't know if they're different people or not, you shall be called Guest-1. Happy to hear you're enjoying it.

 **Guest-2** : It always felt a bit of a risk giving Tri a Sharingan, especially since it only added to his already substantial ability. But as Tri grows older, he becomes more prone to the angry outbursts associated with the Uchiha clan, and there's no better way to display that than through, at least I think so, a Sharingan.

 **Mr. Guest** : Happy to hear it. Hope you enjoy this chapter too.

 **Lorien Legacy** : It certainly felt unique writing it compared to all the other chapters, but they're all adults now so I decided now was the time to start incorporating more adult themes.

 **Mozzer31** : That is the aim, friend. Thank you.

 **Yami Mun** : Glad to hear it, and wait no longer, here's the next chapter, hope you like it.

 **Guest-3** : Um, no. Last time I checked I was indeed still alive.

* * *

A day in the life of – Tri & Naruto

-(*)-

The day was finally here, today was the day the Natsu festival started. Preparations had been weeks in the making, workers had been busy for days raising the bunting and it was everywhere, not a street went without some decoration.

Merchants had travelled from across Hi no Kuni and from neighbouring countries. And now the villages outer limits, normally populated by open spaces and trees was for the next three days occupied by hundreds of stalls selling food and drink, gifts and trinkets and offering fairground games.

The excitement, especially in the final few days leading up to today was palpable. The people of Konoha, Shinobi and Civilian alike had whipped themselves into a state of excitement. And all across Konoha, people were readying themselves, outfits – meticulously picked out, were being put on ready for the festivals start at midday.

Given the levels of excitement, you'd think the sons of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina would be rushing around to make sure they were ready, right? No – no they were not. It was half-past ten in the morning and both were doing the opposite.

Instead, both were sat at the kitchen table, Naruto munching on a bowl of cereal while Tri skimmed through a number of scrolls.

"Naruto, what stone would you say that clearing from made from?" he asked not lifting his head for what he was reading. "Could you be more specific," he bluntly replied. "Back in Ishi," he clarified, again not looking up. Nobody else was with them so the Shinobi Secrecy Act surrounding S-Rank missions remained unbroken.

"I'm hardly an expert of rocks, my understanding of them only goes as far as breaking them. Why? What are you reading?" he questioned between mouthfuls. "When we were coming back from Iwa I remembered something I'd read in passing in one of the texts I was able to recover from Uzushiogakure. It seemed similar to what we found but I'm struggling to find the one it was written in.

"Can't remember? Is that even a thing for you?"  
"While I don't forget things Naruto, I don't remember everything. Only things I find important are remembered," he again clarified, his eyes still glued to the scroll in his hands.  
"I'm surprised it's peaked your interest at all, place looked as if it had been abandoned for decades."  
"And I agree, it was a curious find but nothing more. It wasn't until I remembered this text wherever it is that I felt the need to look into it."

Their discussion was cut short as they were joined in the Kitchen by Kushina and Minusha, both already clad in their Yukata's. Their outfits were near identical thanks to their sharing the same vibrant red hair, Kushina's was in a bun while Minusha's was in a ponytail.

The primary colour of both was dark blue. The regular go-to colours for Uzumaki clan members were black and red. The black was out because it was summer and the red because it was already present thanks to their long hair.

Kushina had chosen a neutral green around the wrists and Fuki (Hem Guard) to complement the blue. As a mature woman, she was traditionally limited to duller, darker colours and her use of Blue and green left her with no different colours to use for her Obi so she instead used a slightly lighter shade of blue.

Despite the colour clash, the black and red of the Uzumaki swirl was still sown into the back between her shoulder blades.

Minusha on ther other hand as a young girl had a wider, brighter range of colours available to her. She had eventually chosen yellow as the secondary colour with a white Obi. In addition, yellow/ white floral patterns weaved up the material stopping at the Obi with the top half left plain.

On her back, over the right shoulder blade was the Uzumaki swirl and over her left was the Kanji for 'Namikaze'; despite being a clan Minato had never actually gotten around to making a clan symbol.

"Wow. You both look great," Naruto complimented them both. "Thank you," Kushina replied while the youngest member of the family shot forward to first give the blonde a hug then repeating so for Tri.

"And looking at you both shows me that neither of you are ready, why? You, in particular, Tri-kun," Kushina remarked looking at their appearance, both her eldest sons currently wore casual, at best, Shinobi garb.

"Ah, don't worry about that Kaa-chan, there's still plenty of ti… What do you mean, me in particular?" Tri asked, his head springing up to look at her as his mind finally caught up. He did not receive an answer from her because he figured it out himself, his head slowly turning to level an unimpressed gaze at a grinning Naruto.

"Stellar job at keeping your mouth shut Naruto, absolutely stellar," he drolled. Naruto's grin morphing into a smug, satisfied smirk.

"Yes I know all about your little 'date', and I'll be damned if you're going to be anything sort of presentable, so upstairs now."  
"It's not a date," Tri mumbled under his breath, however, he knew not to argue with his adoptive mother, he'd never win. He picked up all the scrolls he had strewn across the table and trudged upstairs.

"Don't you start laughing Naruto-kun. After I'm done sorting him out, you're next," she barked as the blonde started laughing at Tri – he immediately shut up, he too, knew not to argue. With a satisfactory nod of the head, Kushina followed Tri upstairs.

As soon as she was out of sight Naruto and Minusha looked at one another, both burst into quiet giggles.

Tri dumped all the scrolls on his bed – immediately regretting so, he hadn't kept track of which scrolls he'd already read through. He sighed just as Kushina walked in.

"Hey now, no sighing. You're supposed to be having fun today."  
"It's not that Kaa-chan. I didn't keep track of which scrolls I've been through."  
"Ah," she remarked, realising she'd misunderstood as she pulled a white shirt for him out of a draw. "Take the shirt off," she ordered.

Forgetting about the scrolls for now, Tri turned to face his wardrobe, hanging from a coat hanger over the wardrobe door was his Yukata. Just looking at it stirred a little anxiety at the pit of his stomach.

It was custom made – at Kushina's insistence, she'd forced him to get one. Her reasoning – his bi-coloured hair and his eyes, red and black and red and green respectively, furthermore was his refusal to leave out his violet sash. Those four colours caused havoc with every Yukata she made him try on, at least two colours always clashed.

It quickly became apparent a custom design was the only way forward and after hours of discussions with some of the best tailors in Konoha, they finally nailed down a design that everyone was happy with – or at least something resembling happy in Tri's case.

Despite it being a summer outfit, the primary colour was black, the only other choice would have been white but he was both too old and the wrong gender to get away with it. His ability to mould Suiton Chakra would handle any temperature or thirst issues he had.

The secondary colour was white, as a secondary, he could get away with it if used sparingly, it was limited to just a thin band around the wrists and Fuki. Both colours contrasted well with the red and black of his hair and Sharingan as well as the green of his right eye.

To allow for the sash, they'd done away with the Obi altogether. It was substituted for a thin black cotton belt that would blend in and keep the outfit together, over the top of that would go his violet Jūnishi sash.

He complied and removed the dark grey shirt he had been wearing, "Why am I not just wearing this one?" he asked, holding the grey shirt in one hand. "Because the colour doesn't fit with the others."  
"Does it matter? They aren't going to see much of it, only the top of the chest would be visible," he said.

She gave him a withering stare and held out the white shirt, he took it without another word. "That little bit more white will look better than grey," she then answered. "You can keep the loose three-quarters though," she quickly added.

As he unfolded the white shirt Kushina pulled the outfit down from the coat hanger it hung from, undoing the cotton belt she opened it out ready for him to slip an arm into the sleeve.

She watched him pull the shirt on, it was clear to see just how much time he had devoted to his physical development. Since he was a child he'd always had a slim frame but now – while still thin was wiry in the extreme.

To better utilise his heightened speed and agility he'd kept his weight to an absolute minimum by burning off every ounce of fat he could and while every muscle group was highly developed, none were developed beyond what was necessary.

Then there was the extreme detailing on his arms, the sheer amount of and intricacy of the Fūinjutsu designs he had inked onto his forearms was astounding. When his left arm had finally healed enough to manipulate chakra properly and safely he'd set about reapplying the seals he'd inadvertently destroyed during his face-down with Jiraiya. It had taken him weeks to do so.

With the fresh white shirt now on he slipped his left arm into the long sleeve, then the right. Kushina pulled it up onto his shoulders. "Kaa-chan, just because I don't like wearing them doesn't mean I don't know how to put one on," he said whilst he turned around to face her, he folding one side over the other.

She cocked an eyebrow before snorting, "Knows how to put one on he says. Are you sure about that?" she retorts with a laugh. In confusion he looked down, "Ah," he muttered noticing his mistake. He'd folded the right half over the left, a practice that was only done when you dressed a body for a funeral.

"Well at least if your date goes catastrophically wrong, you'll know how to dress for your own funeral," she chuckled. "It's not a date Kaa-chan," he muttered for the second time, only this time she heard him.

"Well if it's not a date, then what is it?" she asked. "It's because I missed her birthday a few weeks ago."  
"…Yes?" she asked after a few seconds, expecting him to elaborate.  
"I told her I'd be in the village for her birthday a few weeks back but Tou-san had other ideas and sent me on a mission so I missed it. After I'd returned I went to give her her present, while there I asked if there was any way I could make it up to her."  
"And she asked you to take her to the Natsu festival."  
"Yea – Well, more demanded but yeah, pretty much."  
"That was very nice of you Tri-kun, I know you aren't overly fond of crowds."  
"Well, I kinda backed myself into a corner, but I like your way of looking at it more," he said with a sheepish smile as he turned around again to face the mirror attached to his wardrobe door.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed as she watched him tie the cotton belt around his waist in the mirror. "That was a mighty big sigh Kaa-chan."

"I'm getting old Tri-kun. Already two of my children are all grown up. I swear I'll wake up tomorrow and the other two will be adults as well. I'm dreading when the first of you announce I'm going to become a grandmother."

Tri laughed, he knew full well that she loved having a baby to dote over. Whoever out of the four of them first announced they were going to become a parent would have Kushina bouncing off the walls in excitement.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better Kaa-chan. You've barely aged since the day we first met." That earned him a fierce hug, "Such a good boy. And they say Shinobi don't make good parents," she joked.

She picked up his sash from his bedside cabinet and offered it to him, receiving a small nod of thanks and he began tying it. When finished she adjusted it so the cotton belt was obscured as much as possible.

Now fully kitted out he stared at himself in the mirror, his feeling of unease rose and Kushina could tell. Tri hid his emotions very well but there were two ways that they slipped through. The look in his green right eye would change ever so slightly, if you didn't know it was there you'd likely never notice it.

The second was more noticeable, Tri fidgeted incessantly, he struggled to keep his hands still and usually he'd weave hand-seals when fidgeting. But right now he was instead running the cotton fabric between his fingers. Only when he was chilled out or content would his hands stop moving.

"Come on, on your knees," she ordered. "Why?" he asked. "Because you need to relax and I need to do your hair and because you're too tall, you need to kneel down."

Before he could do so she grabbed a cushion off the end of his bed and threw it on the floor so he could rest his knees on it and keep from dirtying his Yukata, not that dirtying it was likely, Tri's room was near spotless.

She grabbed the comb he kept on his desk, thankfully it wasn't buried under a mountain of Fūinjutsu designs inked on paper as it normally was. And for the next few minutes, she just brushed his hair.

Doing his hair and easing his nerves were one and the same. Kushina wanted to do his hair up in a neat bun, something he'd been doing more often of late. And Tri loved it when someone messed with his hair, it didn't matter whether they were brushing it or just running a hand through it.

Within the first fifteen seconds Tri's hands had released the cotton of his Yukata and settled on his thighs, neither hand had moved since.

With even the smallest of knots combed out she set about wrapping his hair into a tight ball at the back of his head. Doing so brought into view why she wanted his hair tied up in the first place. Just like her, Tri had the Uzumaki swirl between his shoulder blades. It otherwise wouldn't have been visible as his long hair would have covered it completely.

As she continued working on his hair, she put another question to him.

"Have you seen Itachi-san since he was discharged?"  
"Yeah, I stopped by to see him yesterday morning."  
"How's he doing?"  
"He's fine. He's been out the hospital for three days now and from the looks of it, it's the laziest three days he's ever lived. He's done nowt but laze around his and Izumi's apartment. I'll be surprised if he doesn't make an appearance today though. Izumi-san loves festivals so I imagine she'll drag him along too."

"I still can't understand why he didn't go see a doctor. He's always been so sensible." Tri shrugged his shoulders, "He said it was because he had more important things to do. But I question how important it truly is if he was happy to just let himself die."

"How are you spending the afternoon Kaa-chan?" he asked, changing the subject. "Well, Minato-kun is supposed to be back soon. The opening day of the Natsu festival is one of the few occasions where he's guaranteed any time off so he sure won't be missing it. When he's back; me, him and Minusha-chan will be attending together."

"And Naruto-kun?"  
"I'm not sure what he's doing yet."

It was as she spoke that they heard the opening and closing of the front door downstairs. "Oh, that'll be him now." A few moments later both laughed as they heard the delighted squeal of, "Tou-san!" from Minusha.  
"Yep. Definitely him," they both said.

"Do you want me to put a senbon in the bun or anything?" she asked as she made the final few adjustments, making sure she hadn't missed a single hair.

To the eyes of a civilian a senbon in the hair would appear to be just a decoration, but for Shinobi it was so they had a weapon of some sort close at hand, you could a lot of damage with a senbon if you knew what you were doing.

"No, thank you Kaa-chan. Thanks to my seals I have my kunai close at hand," he replied drawing one from a storage seal on his arm, the weapon appearing in his hand before immediately disappearing back into it with a puff of smoke.

As they spoke they heard the footfalls of someone ascending the stairs. The sound pitch from the steps ruled out Minusha, it was too deep in pitch which meant it was someone heavy or at least fully grown. A few moments later Minato popped his head around the doorframe.

"Yo," he said in greeting to them both. "Hi," they both replied. "I wasn't expecting you back quite so early," Kushina added as he stepped into the room. "Yeah, I was able to slip away early. I was far from the one of the first to do so either. Hardly anyone left in the Hokage tower right now, so it's not as if there were many around to notice me leave."

"Good, that means we can leave a little earlier. What's that in your hand?" She asked, noticing the piece of paper he was holding.

"It's a letter that'll be of great interest to Tri-kun," he answered offering it to him. With a curious raise on an eyebrow, he took the offered letter. He read the address on the front, "But it's addressed to you Tou-san?"  
"Yes, it's addressed to me, but its contents concern you."

Turning it over in his hands he immediately recognised the wax seal of the Daimyō of Hi no Kuni. He quickly withdrew the letter, the envelope forgotten as it dropped to the floor. He could recognise Daimyō-sama's handwriting as he quickly read through the single sheet of paper.

When he'd finished he picked up the envelope, calmly slid the letter back inside and returned it to Minato. "Arigatou, Hokage-sama," he said, slipping into a professional tone with closed eyes and a wide smile. "Finally," he quietly said to himself with a sense of satisfaction.

Kushina was about to inquire but a silent shake of the head from Minato after which he mouthed the word 'later' held her back. "Ok Tri-kun, I'm done with you. Could you send Naruto-kun up?"  
"Sure thing, Kaa-chan. Thank you," he said as he stood and headed back down to the kitchen.

They waited until they heard him begin to descend down the stairs. "What was that about?" Kushina asked, turning to face her husband. "Remember that kidnap mission when the boys were with the Jūnishi?"  
"Yes, they spent ages going after everyone responsible didn't they."  
"Everyone who directly took part in the kidnapping itself, yes. But they never found who financed it. Tri-kun left the Jūnishi with an agreement with Daimyō-sama – Should they ever find out who the financier is, they'd let him know so he could go after them."

"So they found who was responsible?" He shook his head, "No, but they've finally found an evidence trail to follow. They're confident that will lead them to the financier eventually."

As the talked Naruto made his way upstairs. "My turn Kaa-chan?" he asked from the doorway. "Yep," she chirped. "Ok – Also why does Tri suddenly have a smile a mile wide?" he asked, Minato quickly brought him up to speed.

"Well I'll be, it's been so long now I figured every trail would have long since gone cold by now," the blonde remarked, "Perhaps it'll provide him with the closure I think he still needs," he added with a sigh.

"Anyway, where do you want me, Kaa-chan?" he asked, suddenly perking up. That was as much as he was able to say before she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him out onto the landing. "Minato-kun, after I'm done with this one I help you, ok?" she shouted back across the landing.

"That's fine, I was going to shower first anyway," he shouted back.

Naruto's room was in many respects similar to Tri's. It too was clean and well-aired, they featured the same furniture. But both were uniquely their own, Tri's spare wall was covered in things related to Fūinjutsu, Naruto's featured two beautifully carved wooden sword racks. The rack for Kagizume placed above that of Kuchibashi.

Both swords currently hung from the wall and would remain there for the day, openly carrying weapons was frowned upon during festivals; not that it stopped Shinobi from carrying concealed weapons. But Naruto would not worry over the blades safe-keeping, he lived with multiple Fūinjutsu masters after all.

If any but the six people whose fingerprints were keyed into the seals were to attempt to lift either sword from its rack then they would be confronted by hundreds of senbon at point-blank range.

And just as it was in Tri's room, Naruto's outfit for today hung from the top of his wardrobe, at least he had been the one to place his there. It too was a custom design but he and Kushina had had a far easier time nailing down and agreeing on a final design.

She only had to contend with two colours on Naruto himself, the bright yellow blonde hair and the deep, azure-blue of his eyes and sash, he too had refused to leave it out.

The Yukata in its entirety consisted of a two-tone grey layered in a horizontal line pattern, the lighter tone of grey substituting for white.

Kushina who had continued to drag him into his room deposited him in front of his tall mirror screwed onto the wall. He watched her with amusement, she always took these occasions so seriously. No one in the family was exempt from her critical eye, just as none of them was exempt from the critical eyes of everyone else in the village.

But he, they knew it was important to her so they didn't fight her, that and it wasn't only Tri who'd daren't argue against her.

"Seems, Tri-kun's not the only one with a mile-wide grin, what's got you so chipper?" She asked pulling his shirt drawer open. "Downstairs, Tou-san told me he's close to agreeing on a date for the next diplomatic exchange with Iwa."

She stopped what she was doing to look at him, "You've really thrown yourself into this burgeoning relationship with Iwagakure, haven't you?" He nodded firmly, "I have. The stories I've read or heard from previous Shinobi wars are enough to make me realise I don't want my generation to be subject to the same."

It might seem ironic, contradictory; some might say futile, to expend effort to prevent a future Shinobi world war whilst simultaneously serving as an active Shinobi. But as previous Shinobi world war veterans could attest, the occasional scraps one might encounter on missions, fought by perhaps a dozen Shinobi paled in utter insignificance to the world wars.

Wars in which tens of thousands were mobilised and sent out, and by the end, thousands were carried home to be buried.

She gave him a warm smile before turning back to his shirt drawer. While she herself never truly experienced losing friends and family to the proverbial meat-grinders the great wars became. But she'd seen the damage it had done to Kakashi when he served under Minato.

Losing Obito had crushed him but losing Rin damn near destroyed him. The sadness she always felt when she remembered Obito re-surfaced, after all, Obito had been her favourite.

Putting those sombre feelings aside she finally found the shirt she was looking for. "Ah-ha," she said pulling out a light grey/ white shirt from under several others. "Here, put this on," she ordered shoving it into his hands.

With another amused shake of the head he did as instructed, the multi-coloured top he was currently wearing was removed, scrunched up into a ball and thrown into the hamper in the corner.

And for the second time today Kushina was able to see how strong one of her sons had become. Compared to Tri, Naruto was the near total opposite. The blonde wasn't thin in the slightest, his combat style required substantially more muscle mass and it showed.

Naruto was broad of shoulder and chest, as he pulled the shirt on the short sleeves strained around the width of his bicep/ triceps muscle group.

"Have you seen Itachi-san since he was discharged?" she asked, repeating the question she'd asked Tri not a few minutes earlier as she held his Yukata open for him. "Uh, he was released three days ago so I saw him the day before last," he answered slipping an arm into a sleeve.

"Tri-kun said he was just lazing about his and Izumi-san's apartment." That made Naruto laugh, "And he was accurate, I've never seen him so inactive."  
"How longs he been living with Izumi-san now?" Naruto thought a few moments, "Must be approaching six months now."  
"Then I presume he's been enjoying it then since he always struck me as the kind of person who'd prefer to live alone."  
"Yeah, I can see that, he does like his privacy. But there are few people he trusts more than Izumi-san. And he enjoys her company."

Slipping his other arm into the sleeve he leaned in closer to her and whispered in her ear, "Just between us, I think they both fancy each other. But neither seems to have noticed how the other feels about them yet."

If Tri had been present to hear Naruto's words, he might have been forgiven for bursting into tears of laughter at the irony of such a statement.

"You think?" Kushina curiously asked in a quiet voice. Not even Shinobi were immune to the grasping claws of gossip. "Uh-huh," he eagerly nodded back, "Think about it, it's a small apartment, there's only one bedroom. And the sofa simply isn't big enough for Itachi to sleep on comfortably."  
"Oh my!" Kushina gasped in mock-scandal.

Following a few moments of silence, they both burst into a fit of giggles.

"Well if you're right, then I'm glad he's found some happiness. The past year or so has been hard on him." Naruto could only nod as he tied a cotton belt of the same two-tone grey around his waist, his sash going over the top of it.

To have to carry the weight of killing off the majority of your own clan, your father among them. To have to deal with a sibling that despised you and a mother who is a shattered remnant of her former self. It must have been overwhelming at times, Kushina struggled to simply imagine how heavy it all must have weighed on him, both body and mind.

She made a final adjustment or two to the sash, hiding the belt underneath as best she could. "And that makes three of you done," she said with an air of satisfaction.

"At least you got the folds the right way around," she added. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Tri accidentally folded the right side of the left," she explained. Naruto looked taken aback, "Don't you do that when you're dressing a body for a funeral?"  
"Yes, yes you do," she laughed, Naruto quickly joining her.

"Well, at least he'd be properly dressed if he makes a mess of things with Sakura-san today," he said through his laughter. "That's what I said!" she exclaimed, their laughter doubling as both had to lean on one another simply to remain standing.

"Did you have to point it out to him, or did he put the pieces together himself?" Naruto asked as his laughter subsided. "No, no. I inferred that he'd made a mistake, he figured out the rest himself."

"Well, that's a relief. Here I was for a moment thinking he was a completely lost cause," he said in an exaggerated voice. Kushina had to cover her mouth to stifle more snorts of laughter.

After calming down she playfully smacked him on the arm, "Be nice, he's just nervous. Anyway, what's your plan for today

"Hey, you laughed too," he pouted. "As for your question, I'm gonna stick with you and the family until around 5 pm then I'm going to go meet Suzushii-san, Shinsuke-san and Hana-chan."  
"Oh good," she said, "Minusha-chan will be happy to hear that."  
"How's she been holding up?" he asked, his voice immediately carrying a serious edge to it. "She's ok when any of the three of you are around," she said, referring to the girl's brothers.

"But with you and Tri-kun away on missions as often as you are and now Rezano-kun's much the same she gets lonely. Most of the time it's just me and her in the house and I'm usually busy with clan paperwork and the like. I'm hoping that her joining the Academy will alleviate that. It'll be good for her to be around kids her own age, it did wonders for you and Tri-kun." Naruto stepped forward and wrapped his mother in a hug.

 **Meanwhile back downstairs**

( **A/N** : Yes, this steps back a few minutes to just before Naruto headed upstairs)

While Kushina aided Tri, Naruto and Minusha were left in the kitchen to natter the minutes away. Or to be precise it was more Minusha listing off the things she was going to do and in what order. Toffee apple appeared on the list several times.

If it wasn't clear beforehand it was clear now just how excited – no giddy, Minusha was. She struggled to stay still in her chair as she counted down the minutes.

Minusha talked non-stop, barely taking long enough to breathe. She was finally brought to a halt by the sound of the front door opening. Both briefly looked at one another before turning their eyes towards the doorway leading out into the hall. A few seconds later Minato appeared in the doorway.

"Tou-san!" Minusha squealed in delight as she climbed up in her chair and vaulted clean over the table in her efforts to give him a hug.

Naruto let out a laugh as he watched her attempt to tackle him to the ground. "Are you coming too?" she excitedly asked. "Yes, yes I'm going to the festival too. You'd never forgive me if I didn't."  
"Yay!" she cheered.

"Yay Indeed. But I still need to get ready. And to do that, you need to let go," he told her, his voice starting to sound slightly strained as she held the hug. Despite her young years, she had inherited her mother's ability to squash lungs and crack bones with just a hug.

Thankfully for Minato, his words broke through her veil of excitement, "Oh. Ok, Tou-san," she said releasing him.

"Air's so underrated ain't it Tou-san," Naruto jested. "It certainly is," he replied trying to disguise his deep breaths. Minusha returned to incessantly fidgeting in her seat while Minato stayed in the doorway.

"Oh, before I forget, I received a message from the Tsuchikage this morning." That perked Naruto's ears up immediately, "Go on."  
"We're close to confirming a date for the next diplomatic exchange. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it'll be for a few months at least. There are a few matters that require the Tsuchikage's attention that can't be postponed, it's a shame, but it can't be helped."  
"Yeah, agreed, no harm done though. To be honest I'm amazed that it's taken until the third meeting before something has forced some sort of delay, it's all gone off without a hitch so far."

Minato nodded in agreement. Other than the attempts of hard-liner factions in both villages to either get the first meeting delayed or outright cancelled – which failed miserably, the meetings had exceeded everyone's expectations.

"But there is a silver lining though. We've already decided when the fourth meeting will take place." This came as an abrupt surprise to Naruto, "You have? When? Where?" Minato just grinned back, "The Chūnin Exams."

"Of course!" he exclaimed, his palm smacking against his forehead. "Despite the proximity time-wise, no one can complain, especially the hard-liners because the Tsuchikage will be in Konoha anyway." He reined himself in there, "Iwagakure will be taking part in the Chūnin Exams right?" Minato nodded. "Yeah, that's works out great. You don't even need to call it a diplomatic exchange."

"Exactly," Minato said. "Did the Tsuchikage not get grouchy about Konoha hosting two meetings in a row?"  
"He's not highlighted anything. I intend to offer the fifth and sixth meetings be held in Iwa to balance it out." Naruto nodded his approval. "Anyway, I still need to get ready and I've news for Tri-kun too."

"Oh?" Naruto said raising an eyebrow, Minato's eyes quickly looked up at the ceiling for a brief moment. Naruto understood the subtle sign, he didn't want Minusha listening in.

With him gone Naruto and Minusha went back to idle chit-chat. They were joined a few minutes later by a Yukata clad Tri. "My turn?" Naruto asked, with a nod from Tri he departed.

Minusha watched as Tri instead of sitting down slowly paced back and forth across the kitchen. "You're going to wear the floor out," she said, bringing him to a stop. He turned to face her with a pouting glare which melted away to be replaced by a laugh. "I'm just trying to get used to walking in this," he explained.

"I still don't understand why you don't like wearing formal clothing, it's suits you surprisingly well," she said honestly. "Thank you, Minusha-chan. It's the sheer amount of material and loose fit that I don't like. It feels so unwieldy, it weights too much, despite being cotton and an array of other things I don't like about it."

"I'm sure you can manage it for a few days." He sighed, "Tri-kun, don't start sighing, you came down with a smile so don't spoil it." He looked at her in surprise before laughing, "Yes ma-am," he joked. Now it was her turn to pout at him as he finally sat down next to her.

In recent months Minusha had changed how she interacted with other members of the family. No longer did she use 'Nii-chan' when communicating with her brothers, instead choosing to use the 'kun' honorific. In a general sense, she acted more maturely.

It wasn't at the behest of others that she made this change, she had decided upon it herself. The attempts by Rezano-kun's former Academy teacher to kill the two of them had opened her eyes to the world of Shinobi. It was a cold, harsh and savage world.

"Have I really been moping that much?" he asked, referring to his single sigh. She gave him a stern look, "Yes," she bluntly replied. "It comes as a great relief to be honest. Your sudden change of mood which I presume is down to whatever Tou-san said to you means you won't be awful company for the poor girl today."  
"I take it Naruto-kun told you as well?"  
"He did, it was very nice of you."  
"Thanks," he quietly replied.

"At first I was annoyed you wouldn't be spending any time with me but then I remembered."  
"Remembered what?" She turned a vicious grin on him. "Why Tri-kun, the festival lasts several days and who do you think is taking me tomorrow."

He tried to retort but no words came. "Alright, you win this round," he quickly conceded. "Of course I do," she cockily replied.

Any further exchanging of words were briefly cut off by the sound of muffled laughter above them. "What'd you suppose they're laughing at?" he asked. "You I expect." He snorted, "Yeah, probably." She turned to face him once more. As he was currently looking up at the ceiling it meant she could see his hair.

"You have your hair tied up?" she asked out of the blue. "Did you only just notice?" he questioned, giving her a weird look. Somewhat embarrassed by her lack of perception she only nodded. "It's so the Uzumaki symbol can be seen on my back," he explained swivelling around in his chair to show her. "Ah," she chimed in realisation. "I'm surprised you've only just noticed," he said spinning back around to face her.

"Yeah… No offence Tri-kun, I love you and everything. But right now I'm wayyy more interested in how much longer I have to wait until I can have my first toffee apple of the day in my face." He laughed. "Well if that's the case, you wouldn't be of much use on missions during festival time then."

Furrowing her eyebrows, "Elaborate," she demanded. "What do you think Rezano-kun's doing right now?"  
"Mission?" she presumed. "Correct, a D-Rank mission followed by training. He likely won't finish until perhaps 3 pm. He'll likely do the same most days."

Her eyes widened in realisation and Tri thought she actually looked genuinely gutted. He felt kind of bad now, while he was only poking fun at her he was completely honest.

Being a Shinobi was a full-time affair, you had to make sacrifices and your hobbies were among the first to go. The necessity of working missions to earn paychecks. Then there was the extensive training that would allow you to undertake missions of higher paygrades.

Overall, it left you little time for much else – at least until you became at minimum, an established Chūnin who partook on multi-week missions which tended to be followed by at least several days off.

Genin, in particular, had little spare time, the necessity of training them into Chūnin superseded all else.

"Don't worry about it too much Minusha-chan. It just means you'll have to enjoy this one even more," he tried to reassure her with a gentle hand on the shoulder. Thankfully it seemed to help as a smile returned to her face. "Ok," she finally responded.

"So come on then, tell me what you're going to be doing today then?" he asked, trying to perk her back up. And with another wry smile, she dived in and laid out in extreme detail exactly what she was going to get up to. Despite having told Naruto all this a little while ago she told Tri with the same level of zeal.

"That's a lot of toffee apples," Tri remarked after she'd finished. "I like toffee apples."  
"I noticed, it became pretty clear after the third one, but fives a bit much isn't it?"  
"They're to take home," she defended herself. "Well if it were the final day then I could understand but it's only the first day and half a day at that," he smirked.

Both were ready to playfully argue the finer points of consuming a dozen toffee apples in the span of three days but were interrupted by the return of Naruto.

With his return, all three of them playfully argued the finer points of consuming so many toffee apples. It helped them pass the time while they waited for their parents.

It was another twenty minutes until they both joined them. Both sporting wide grins while a flushed look on Minato's cheeks made Tri and Naruto give each other a brief knowing glance. Both suspected more than just dressing took place upstairs.

' _Thank Kami for the wonders of Fūinjutsu soundproofing_ ,' ran through both their minds. Tri had, without Minato and Kushina knowing, installed the seal arrays in their parents' bedroom a few months earlier.

"Tri-kun, why are you still here?" Kushina asked after briefly looking at the clock. "What are you talking about? I've still got plenty of time. It takes me like 45 seconds to get to Sakura-san's house."  
"It might normally but you aren't moving like a Shinobi today."  
"You don't…"  
"Oh yeah," she cut in, nodding eagerly. "You will move no faster than a civilian today."

Those words made him cringe, regular running was slow to him. So to have to walk at a veritable snails pass was going to be frustratingly tedious. *Sigh*, "Fine," he groaned, dragging himself to his feet. He gave Minusha and Kushina quick hugs before bidding them all farewell.

"Have fun!" Kushina songfully called after him. "Don't worry, I'm sure I will," he dryly called back.

-(*)-

' _By kami, how do people go through life walking this slowly?_ ' he complained. A forty-five-second trip has stretched out to nearly fifteen minutes. He swore people were giving him looks of surprise simply because they could see him.

Turning the final corner brought him to the right street. He was in a more residential part of town, houses were replaced by multi-story apartment blocks. But it wasn't one of these apartment blocks that was his destination, it was a small two-story house about a third of the way down the street squeezed between two larger buildings.

A small covered flight of stairs he ascended two at a time lead up to the door he sought, he knocked and waited.

"Coming," said a muffled voice from the other side of the door, the voice had a male sound to it. ' _Perhaps I can get in and out without seeing her?_ ' Tri wondered as the door opened.

He was greeted by a man with spiky, dark pink hair and what was – still to this day, the weirdest moustache Tri had ever seen. It was the same tone of pink and somewhat resembled a handle-bar moustache but the two halves didn't meet under the nose.

Despite all that Tri had found him to be a decent man that he'd never had issues getting along with.

"Kizashi-san," he greeted him, inclining his head slightly. "Ah, Tri-san," he replied with a welcoming smile. "Please come in," he added stepping to the side.

With a curt nod of thanks, he stepped into the small, narrow entrance hallway. With the property being squeezed between two larger structures, it left little in the way of space. But while space was limited and Tri was no interior designer, he thought the Haruno family had done quite well with what they had.

After shutting the door behind him Kizashi moved to lean on the bannister that led upstairs, "Sakura-chan!" he called up. "Just a minute," was the returned call.

Turning back to face the young man, "How are you, Tri-san," he asked, looking to pass the time. "I'm very well, thank you Kizashi-san. How are you?"  
"Oh, I can't complain. I finally have a few days off."  
"I know that feeling," he replied which made the elder of the two of them chuckle. "Yes, Sakura-chan mentioned you seem to be away on missions rather often."  
"That's putting it lightly," he somewhat bitterly replied. "Nineteen in a row," he muttered under his breath, Kizashi didn't hear him.

"Either way, I won't complain at getting some time to spend with Mebuki-chan and Sakura-chan." That made Tri wince a little, "I haven't infringed on that have I?" he cautiously asked. "No, no, no," he quickly reassured him, "The three of us will be spending tomorrow together. We already knew Sakura-chan was going to be with you today before we planned out what we were doing."  
"That's a relief."

It was then that the third member of the Haruno family joined them from whatever she was doing in the Kitchen. ' _So much for avoiding her,_ ' he thought.

"Mebuki-san," is what he said, as he respectfully greeted her. Inclining his head slightly further than he did for Kizashi, not enough to be considered a bow but enough to show the appropriate levels of respect.

He was well aware that the Haruno household was a matriarchy, run by Mebuki - just like his own was run by Kushina.

Sakura's mother was a strong-willed woman with sandy blonde hair that featured a single, prominent bang that fell between her green eyes, the same eyes that Sakura had inherited. As usual, she wore one of her many Qipao dresses, today's was white with a hollow red circle both on the back and front. The hollow circle being the symbol of the Haruno family.

He could remember when Sakura used to wear them too when she was younger, he also remembered how little he thought they suited her.

"Tri-san," she replied neutrally.

' _As warm a welcome as always,_ ' he mentally sighed. She'd never really taken to him, despite having known one another for years now. And it looked like their already frosty relationship might be about to become frost-bitten as she walked right up to him.

Kizashi made an effort to stop her but a single harsh glare from Mebuki had him backing up before she turned her gaze upon the Uzumaki heir. ' _Well, you can't say you didn't try Kizashi-san._ '

The two of them staring one another down made for a strange sight, while Tri was hardly the tallest of Shinobi, Naruto was three inches taller, despite that Tri was still almost a third of a foot taller than her.

"What are your intentions towards my daughter?" she firmly demanded. Straightway his eyes glazed over in annoyance, his Sharingan spinning slowly. ' _Well, at least she got straight to the point this time instead of dancing around it like normal. But for kami sake, when is she going to realise I'm not trying to fuck her daughter._ '

"I am merely a _close friend_ accompanying your daughter to the Natsu festival at _her request_ ," he replied, heavily emphasising 'close friend' and 'her request'.

She couldn't hold back a derisive snort. "Stories I've overheard in the standby stations suggest you're intentions might be very different."

He knew what she was referring to. Tri had slept with several Kunoichi in a one-night stand capacity and Kunoichi gossiped, so more than just those Kunoichi would know by now. But he would make no such attempts with Sakura because she broke one of his three golden rules.

The first rule, Kunoichi only, no civilian women. The second rule, he wouldn't sleep with any woman he considered a friend, he didn't feel one night of sex was worth losing a friend over. And finally the third rule, he let them make all the decisions. If the Kunoichi made it clear she wasn't interested then he left them be.

So while he could understand that Mebuki was only looking out for her daughter, he did not appreciate all her insinuations and borderline accusations. Sakura broke the second rule and as far as he was concerned, that was the end of the matter.

Meanwhile, Mebuki's mind was whirring, sixteen words were all it took for him to convey a great deal of information. Two points in particular.

Firstly, in reverse order. Tri had made it apparent he wasn't the one who invited Sakura, but that Sakura had invited him – well, strictly speaking, that wasn't true, she'd pretty much ordered him to take her, but semantics.

Secondly was his use of the words 'close friend'. When considered in tandem with the first point he'd made it pretty clear they were attending together as friends and not some sex-starved duo or an actual couple.

She considered there to be another meaning hidden under everything else, it spelt out, quite simply, "Back off."

Knowing she wouldn't be able to get anywhere without directly accusing him of something. "Fine then, if I'm to entrust my daughter's safety to you then I trust you are adequately armed?"

This time it was his turn to snort, holding up his right hand a kunai appeared in his palm before instantly disappearing again. Only to be replaced by a small blue swirling mass of chakra easily identifiable as the Yondaime's Rasengan. "I trust this meets with your satisfaction?" he asked, she gave a firm but disgruntled nod before looking away in frustration.

An awkward silence descended over the hallway. Kizashi suddenly became very interested in his fingernails, Tri looked at the artwork on the walls while Mebuki looked at the stairs, occasionally stealing glances at Tri.

They were all finally able to throw off the air of awkwardness when they all heard the sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs. The staircase in the Haruno house was, to save space, a spiral design. So none of them saw Sakura until she reached the last few steps.

And what Tri saw, in a word, left him surprised. Surprised at how good she looked, "Wow," he whispered.

Her Yukata was simple, light red in colour with no secondary colour at all, pink flower blossoms decorations were spread across the entire garment. It was finished with a light pink Obi of a similar colour to her hair while she carried white sandals in her hand.

As for her hair itself, she had done very little, the bang either side of her face remained although some of the hair at the back of her head was tied up similar to his. It was finished with a hair clip sporting a butterfly design embossed with coloured glass.

"Hi," she said, cheerfully greeting him. "Hi," he greeted her in return. "What do you think?" she asked spinning once on the spot so he could see the entire outfit. "You look fantastic," he answered. She gave him a big smile, "Thank you," she warmed replied.

"You look lovely dear, now do you have any weapons on you?" Tri rolled his eyes which Sakura saw and was barely able to suppress a laugh. "Yes, Kaa-chan," she replied lifting her sleeve to reveal a holster for senbon and a small kunai variant. "Good girl," her mother said before kissing her on the forehead.

"Are you ready Tri-kun?"  
"Whenever you are."  
"Ok then," she said before hurriedly giving both her parents a hug, rushing to the doorway she put on her sandals. "Be safe and have fun," Kizashi said as Sakura opened the door. "Don't worry, we will," she excitedly said before near enough yanking Tri out the door after her.

Kizashi waited a few seconds after the door had closed before turning to his wife. "You did it again," he bluntly stated. "I'm only looking out for our daughter."  
"I know that and thankfully I think Tri-san knows that too. But that doesn't excuse the fact that you constantly harass him about Sakura-san."

"But, you should hear the gossip about him from some of the Kunoichi," she weakly tried to argue. "Ah, but you forget, I have heard these stories too. And you forget he's far from the only male Shinobi spoke of in such context, but answer me this. Have a single one of those Kunoichi ever spoken negatively of him?"

That brought her argument to a grinding halt, he was right, none had spoken ill of Minato and Kushina's adopted son, all that she'd overheard was positive in nature.

Seeing she'd lost the will to argue further he wrapped her in a hug. "She was never going to remain your little girl forever," he softly said in her ear. "She's a young woman now. It'll only be a few more years before she reaches the age you were when you fell pregnant with her.

"So don't worry so much Mebuki-chan. Besides, have you ever known Tri-san to be anything but completely respectful towards Sakura-chan?" After she'd shook her head he spoke again. "Come on, why don't we make an early start on lunch," he suggested, taking her hand in his and gently guiding her towards the kitchen.

 **Meanwhile outside**

"I'm sorry about what Kaa-chan said, Tri-kun," Sakura apologised after they reached the street at the bottom of the stairs. Turning to face he replied, "You heard that?"  
"Yeah."  
"All of it?" she nodded and he sighed. "Don't worry about it, no harm done I guess. I know she's only being protective of you, as any mother should – even if it is misguided. But I'll admit, it's getting kinda old.

"I really don't appreciate her insinuations that I'm some sort of bogeyman out to take her daughter's virginity before running off into the sunset," he irritably added. Through his irritation he missed the colour of her cheeks change to greatly resemble that of her Yukata.

Despite her blush, she was composed enough to spot an opportunity to have a joke at his expense. "What? You mean you aren't trying to bang me?" she asked in a voice that was positively dripping in artificial disappointment.

The startled look he gave her made her crack up immediately as she burst into laughter. Seeing he'd been had, he relaxed, "Please don't do that again. I don't know what would kill me first, the heart attack, or being bludgeoned to death by your mother armed with a shovel."

She only laughed some more, so he pouted at her which only caused her to laugh even more.

After she'd finally recovered and wiped away a mirthful tear or two she spoke again, "Oh come on Uzumaki-san, you're supposed to be taking me to the Natsu Festival. I, therefore, demand you be cheerful for the rest of the day."

"As my lady, Haruno-san says, so shall it be," he formally replied with a grin as he offered her his arm, she wrapped both of hers around his and they started walking.

"Why is your street so empty?" he asked as they neared a T junction. "I'd of thought it would be crammed with people coming and going in their droves." Right now, including the two of them, there were less than a dozen people on the entire street and it was a pretty long street.

"And you'd be right they are – only they all did it several hours ago." He raised an eyebrow at her so she explained, "Most of the residents around here are merchants or shopkeeps."  
"Ah!" he said. "So they all left hours ago to ready stalls and such?"  
"Exactly," she smiled.

"Tri-kun."  
"Hmm?" he murmured. "Thank you for going with me today."  
"There's no need to thank me, it's what you wanted after all. But, you're welcome."  
"I know, I know. But you've never liked being in crowds or wearing formal clothes."  
"While yes that is true. I'm sure I can manage a day for the sake of one of my closest friends," he honestly replied. With another smile, she tightened her grip on his arm in place of a hug.

 **A little while later**

Sakura was mindful of Tri's discomfort amongst crowds of people so she eased him in, so to speak. While the best stalls were right in the middle she skirted around the outside and slowly spiralled inwards. The crowds were greatly reduced along the outer fringes so he had time to acclimatise. It took nearly the entire first hour before they had to dip and duck between throngs of people.

Tri was expecting her to beeline straight to the centre and was slightly confused when she didn't. It took him a while to figure out what she was doing. But when he did he greatly appreciated her presence of mind and thoughtfulness.

The sheer number of stalls numbered into the hundreds, all covered in bright colours with signs in places of prominence where the most eyes could see them. Some of those running the stalls, particularly those with game stalls tried to persuade people to partake, their voices adding to the cacophony of noise. Children giddily ran around, their parents trying desperately to keep track of them. Some of those children were chastised for running off, within five minutes they were doing it again, their parent's word's completely forgotten.

Tri was in the midst of storing yet another cuddly teddy, this time a giant green crocodile, into a storage scroll. "I really don't get why the game stalls allow Shinobi to take part," he said storing the scroll into one of the seals on his arm. "I don't know either, but I ain't complaining. Your throwing arm is winning me a gluttony of cuddly animals," Sakura smirked.

Tri had wondered why Sakura had asked him to play the throwing games, he wondered no more, after all the top prize, which he'd won every time, was usually an obnoxiously big cuddly animal. He should have remembered Sakura already owned a rather large collection of cuddly animals, well now she had five more. In total Tri had actually won six but one of the prizes had consisted of a matching pair, one of which she'd given to Tri.

"I wonder if it's because they don't want to have to lug the remaining prizes around when the festival ends?" She suggested. "Th… Actually, you may have a point there. Perhaps we could ask one of your neighbours?" he grinned. "Perhaps," she grinned back.

Sakura was about to drag Tri to another game stall, she'd set her eyes on a giant frog teddy when a voice behind them caught there attention. "Hello you two, having fun?"

Both turned and were greeted by the sight of Tsunade and Shizune. Both women wore what they usually did from day to day. Shizune normally wore something akin to a Yukata regularly while Tsunade, being Tsunade wore her usual low-cut Kimono-style blouse with a green haori over the top with a dark blue-grey Obi, the same colour as her three-quarter length pants.

Both greeted the two women simultaneously, "Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san," they respectfully said. Tsunade said nothing for the moment while Shizune gave them a big smile and a wave.

"Do you two know how annoying you can be to find?" Tsunade asked out of the blue, her question caught them both by surprise. "I think I found every member of the Hokage family except the one I'm actually looking for."  
"What do you need me for Tsunade-sama?" Tri asked. "I actually don't need you at all Tri-san, but I was informed that the person I was actually looking for was with you," she finished by looking straight at Sakura.  
"Wait, you mean me?"  
"Yes, you."

"Uh… How can I help you, Tsunade-sama?"  
"I'm glad you asked. Monday morning, 9:00 am, my office. You can ask any of the hospital staff for directions if needed.  
"Um, ok? Might I inquire as to the reason?" The Sannin grinned, ' _Tri hasn't mentioned anything to her yet._ '

"Why Sakura-san, I need your presence so we can work out a timetable for your medical training of course." Sakura was floored, very few people knew she even had an interest in medical Ninjutsu and she was sure Tsunade wasn't one of them, then it clicked.

"You!" she rounded on Tri who was doing his best to stop a smirk becoming a laugh. "Me?" he replied. "Yes, you. You're one of the only people who could possibly have done this." Sakura never noticed Tsunade and Shizune take their leave.

"Oh, alright I admit it. I'm responsible."  
"What did you do?" she demanded. "Very little actually, all I did was suggest your name to Tsunade-sama and answer a few questions."  
"Elaborate."

Seeing they were making for an amusing scene Tri took her by the elbow and lead her to a quiet corner between two stalls. "As I already said, I did very little. I just happened to know that, in your spare time you like to learn medical Ninjutsu, medical techniques, human biology, etc.

"I also knew that Tsunade-sama was looking for a new batch of recruits to train as medics. And I, knowing of your prior knowledge forwarded your name as a suggestion. She asked me a few questions relating to just how much you already knew and that's it."  
"That's it?" she said sceptically. "Yep. Tsunade-sama decided of her own free will to offer you a spot, no influencing from me."

"So, I could become a Medic Nin?"  
"In a sense, I would guess you'll be trained as a combat medic, you're too good a fighter to remove you from front-line duty completely."

The differences between Medical Ninja and Combat Medics while few were substantial.

The first difference was an especially big one. Medical Ninja, as per the second of Tsunade's four rules, weren't permitted to be on the front-line. Medics often found themselves the targets of attacks; kill the medic, you likely kill their patients too. Combat Medics, however, could break this rule.

Medical Ninja received a wide and comprehensive education in the art of healing and human biology. Combat Medics, on the other hand, received a more streamlined education focusing on poisons, burns, severe trauma and chakra transfer.

This streamlined medical education was so the medic could stabilize them and keep them from dying as they're being withdrawn to the rear to receive full medical treatment.

If one were to summarise, Medical Ninja were to heal them, and Combat Medics were to keep them alive.

Sakura took a few moments to digest what he'd just dropped on her. "I know it's sudden, to be honest, I expected Tsunade-sama to at least ask you if this was something you'd be interested in."  
"No, it's fine, it is something I'm very interested in. Yes, it's sudden, but I want to take the course."  
"Glad to hear it."

With a big, beaming smile she gave him a strong hug, "Thank you," she quietly said before releasing him. "You're welcome, but all I did was say a few words. You're the one who put all the hours into learning it in your spare time."  
"No, I think you did a lot more than that. Now come on, I want that frog," she said as she dragged him to the stall in question.

-(*)-

While one brother was winning stupidly big stuffed animals, the other… was doing exactly the same; amongst other things of course. Naruto had indulged at every food stall, perused every trinket stall and of course won at every game stall he'd visited.

Up until now, the prizes had been small enough to fit in bags but not this one. Under Naruto's arm was a gigantic pink stuffed elephant, and of course, he'd forgotten to bring a sealing scroll. So now he was following his family around with a giant elephant under his arm.

It was then he noticed a little girl, no older than five, maybe six years old. She was staring at the elephant with wide eyes, he could tell she wanted the elephant. Handing a bag to Minato, he approached the girl and her parents.

He knelt down in front of her, "What's your name little one?" he asked. "Yui," the girl timidly replied after a few moments, she was nervous. "Hi, Yui-san. My names Naruto," he replied with a small wave. "Now, Yui-san. I have a problem and I was hoping you could help me solve it." The girl needed some encouragement from her mother before she nodded.

"Awesome, thank you Yui-san. Now, my problem is that I have this great big pink elephant, but I simply have nowhere to put it," he explained holding it in front of him. "And it would just be the greatest shame to have to put it in a cupboard or something where no one could see it. So I was wondering if you had anywhere you could put it?"

The girl's eyebrows furrowed, Naruto could see she didn't fully understand what he'd just said but thankfully her mother did. "Yui-chan," she said in a soft, calming voice. "You have some space in your bedroom by your cabinet, don't you. I think it would fit there perfectly."

It took a few moments more but it was enough for her to understand, her previously narrowed, timid eyes, in a shot, opened as wide as saucers. She understood now that Naruto was offering the elephant to her. She couldn't have nodded any more vigorously, it was as if her head was on a spring. "You will?" She kept nodding. "Oh, thank goodness. Thank you Yui-san."

He extended out his hands and she took the giant teddy into her own arms. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at the sight, it was almost as big as she was.

"What do you say Yui-chan," her mother asked. "Thnk yuu," she replied, her voice completely muffled behind a wall of pink fluff. "You're most welcome Yui-san. Remember you need to think of a name," he said after a small chuckle. Yui managed to shuffle the elephant around enough so she could speak clearly, "Momoiro,"[ **1** ] she said. Again, Naruto laughed, "A most appropriate name, Yui-san."

"Arigatou, Naruto-sama," the girl's mother quietly said to him. But he waved her off, "Ma'am, please, there's no need for such formality and san is just fine." She seemed a little surprised at first but nodded and with a hand on the back of her daughter's neck began to lead her away. He shared a brief handshake with Yui's father.

"Bye, Yui-san," Naruto called out. The girl turned and tried to wave at him without dropping the recently christened Momoiro.

"That was very nice of you, Naruto-kun," he heard Kushina say from behind him. "I saw the look on her face and I just knew I had to give the elephant to her."

That was now almost an hour ago, and Naruto still that warm feeling inside him that you get after doing something nice for someone else. He currently wasn't with his parents or Minusha but he did have Rezano with him.

It had been decided a few days earlier that Naruto would go collect Rezano after he'd finished with his Genin team for the day. And that's just what he had done. He'd quickly rushed his younger brother home so he could shower and change and was now leading him back through the village so Rezano could join the rest of them.

It was unfortunate then that the next few minutes would very much put a dampener on Naruto's day and almost ruin Rezano's entirely.

"Oh, you should have seen it. The moment it landed in her hands it was gone. It wasn't no small one either, it was the biggest she could get." Rezano laughed, "Well, she really does love toffee apples. Would you expect anything else?"

"No, I guess not. It never gets old though," Naruto answered his younger brother as they turned a corner to walk down one of the longest roads in Konoha.

The road was mostly occupied by larger storefronts and state administrative buildings that weren't considered integral to the running of the village and thus weren't located in the village centre. The road wasn't entirely straight, it occasionally curved left or right. But it would eventually take them straight to the festival. While relatively empty at the moment, it would be rammed when everyone started heading home later on.

Right now besides them, there were only two other people in view. Leaned up against a wooden wall and clad in rudimentary Shinobi garb with no visible weapons, while they wore flak vests that meant they weren't Genin neither struck Naruto as Jōnin.

The two of them, perhaps a year or two younger than Naruto by appearances alone turned to look at them. Their faces darkened as both laid eyes on Rezano.

Thankfully Rezano seemed oblivious to them, Naruto intended it to remain that way. As the two groups of two drew closer Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly and gave them a serious glare, he was sending a very clear warning to keep their mouths shut. Whether they'd heed it remained to be seen.

With his warning given he returned to his conversation with Rezano. But now he was only partially paying attention to what he said, his ears were instead listening out for whether anyone else said anything.

A few moments later, with them both actively avoiding looking at the two brothers, Naruto and Rezano walked by. Nothing happened. Naruto was in the midst of sighing in relief when he heard it.

Sadly Rezano, who, thanks to his tenant had developed exceptional hearing, heard it too. It was barely more than a whisper, one word, "Demon." Rezano's head dropped instantly.

He placed a supportive hand on his Otouto's shoulder and brought them both to a stop. Without turning to face them and instead chose to look straight ahead he shouted back at them, "Did you say something?" he questioned in a voice packed with venom.

"Nothing," one of them arrogantly snorted, his buddy snickering under his breath. "Wait here, Rezano-kun. I'll be right back." The young Jinchuriki just nodded.

Naruto had his justification, so he disappeared from sight, despite his bulky frame Naruto retained a surprisingly high level of speed. As a result, neither Chūnin even realised, much less had time to react before Naruto was on them.

The one who'd snickered ended up on his ass several feet away following a flat-footed kick to the chest. The one who'd spoken found himself pinned to the same wooden wall he'd been leaning against, only now he was being held a foot off the ground, a strong hand wrapped around his throat.

"Are you sure?" Naruto said calmly and clearly, "Because it sounded to me like you did."  
"Don't know what you're talking about," he stubbornly replied. "See, now that's just not true and nobody likes a liar," Naruto replied, his hold on his neck tightening.

The one Naruto had kicked managed to pull himself to his feet. Naruto, not taking his eyes off the one he had against the wall spoke to the second, "You so much as take a step I'll tighten my grip on your friend's neck." Any action he had planned was immediately forgotten as Naruto's words stilled him utterly, some of the colour draining from his face.

"As for you," he said. "I believe you owe someone an apology, and it better be good if you don't want to spend tonight in a hospital bed."  
"Sorry," he darkly muttered/ spluttered. Naruto shook his head and lifted him a few inches higher. "It's not me you need to be apologising to, is it?" he reminded him.

"Please, let him go! He can't breathe," the second said in alarm. "Well, in that case, he'd better hurry up then hadn't he."  
"I'm sorry," he tried again, he at least said it in Rezano's direction this time, the young teenager putting on a brave face but it still wasn't enough to satisfy Naruto.

"Better, but like you mean it," he demanded, his vice-like grip increasing a little further.

With his face beginning to turn blue he managed to get the words out, thankfully for his sake, they were somewhat clear and understandable. "I humbly apologise Rezano-san."  
"See, now was that so hard," Naruto said before throwing him to the side where he landed on the ground in a heap, he coughed and spluttered while also drawing in great lungfuls of air. It made for some bizarre noises.

"Consider yourselves fortunate that it's me you pissed off today. Frankly, I'm being lenient, if it had been my adopted brother, make no mistake you'd both be on a one way trip to the emergency room."

He made to turn but stopped himself, "I'd recommend Chilled Honey, Lemon Water or Ginger Root Tea to combat that sore throat you're going to have." Both just stared back at him in dumbfounded shock. Naruto made a 'go away' gesture with his hands, neither moved. "Fuck off," Naruto growled.

That got through as the second helped the first to his feet before they both scurried away as fast as they could.

With a sigh he turned and walked back to Rezano's side, "You alright?" he tentatively asked, the younger boy was clearly downcast now, his positive mood utterly ruined but he nodded. "Come on then, let's go find the others," he said putting a hand behind his neck to get him moving again.

-(*)-

"Yay!" Sakura cheered, momentarily forgetting her age as Tri handed over yet another absurdly sized stuffed animal, this was now the dozenth today to join her substantial collection. Meanwhile, Tri was rather relieved he always carried several storage scrolls on him, he dreaded the thought of having to carry them all individually.

The Frog he'd inevitably won earlier had since been joined by a small bear, a several foot long snake, a second dog, a giant horned dinosaur of some sort, a parrot and now the latest edition, a giant fuzzy rabbit. Truly, a veritable animal kingdom.

Despite the copious amounts of new cuddly animals they'd been collecting, Sakura had managed to find a few small gifts for her friends and family.

"You can stop worrying now, I think I have enough new editions," Sakura declared much to Tri's relief, much longer and he thought his arm might start aching. He wasn't quite sure if she'd called it a day on the cuddly animal collecting because she wanted to save the remaining space in Tri's storage scrolls or because she'd exhausted her teddy collecting budget. He daren't ask but envisioned it was the former.

"If you're done collecting the animal kingdom, where to now?" he asked with a smirk. She gave him a playful push on the shoulder, "Uh, are you hungry at all?" she inquired after a few moments thought. "A little, but it's not pressing."  
"Snack then?"  
"Sure," he said with a nod. "Great," she replied before taking him by the arm and dragging him around once more.

As bizarre as it must have looked, he would have been lost on his own so he let her lead without issue.

She led him through the crowds, weaving in and around groups of civilians and Shinobi alike. With her eyes and ears guiding him he opened his to everyone around him. Of all the people he saw and all the voices he heard, there was one in particular that stood out above all the others, it was one that was familiar to him.

"Yosh!" the voice shouted, the volume overwhelming the collective conversations of everyone else. It actually brought Sakura to a halt, "Who on earth was that?" she turned to ask him, letting go of his wrist. Tri grinned, "I think I know," he replied, "Follow me."

This time it was his turn to take her by the wrist as he gently pulled her through the crowd, the same voice occasionally shouting out allowing him to home in.

Making their way around a final huddle of festival goers brought them to the target. A tall man with his back to them stood in front of a game stall, a man clad in a green jumpsuit. "Yeah I thought so," Tri said. "Do you know him, Tri-kun?" Sakura asked him a little too loudly, the man in front of them heard her.

"Tri-kun?" he said to himself, rapidly spinning 180° on the spot.

His eyes scanned the crowd around them until he located the black/ green, red/ black eye colours, "Tri-kun!" he shouted in a deafeningly loud voice, much to everyone else's annoyance. "Hello Gai-sensei," Tri managed to say before he lifted clean off the ground in a bear hug. ' _Damn it, not the bear hug,_ ' he thought as Gai's vice-like grip compressed his ribcage.

"A handshake would have sufficed," he gasped out as what air that remained in his lungs was squeezed out. Gai finally released him but neglected to put him back down first so he had to drop the six inches, Sakura managed to catch him before his stumble left him on the floor. He sent an appreciative smile her way as Gai spoke.

"Oh, no, no, no, Tri-kun. Only a firm, youthful hug is sufficient to greet a friend after so long," he beamed, before striking that 'good guy' pose of his, a thumbs up and a glisten from his teeth. Tri, used to his eccentric nature, just shook his head in amusement while Sakura looked on in bewilderment.

"Gai-sensei is one of the people who helped train me, Itachi-kun and Naruto-kun before we joined the Academy," he explained to her. "Yosh!," he again shouted, "It was thanks to Tri-kun and his youthful teammates that I was able to gather experience in training young Ninja," he added.

"But I'm being rude, who might this be Tri-kun? Is she, perhaps, your girlfriend?" he asked with a sly grin.

While Sakura blushed at Gai's question, Tri was utterly unfazed thanks to his lesser-known training while a member of the Jūnishi. "No sensei, she's a close friend, not my girlfriend. Sakura-chan, this is Gai Maito, one of the finest Taijutsu masters in the world. And Gai-sensei, this is Haruno Sakura, Chūnin and all-round talented Shinobi."

Sakura was flattered by Tri's praise but was caught off guard by Gai's next sentence. "Ah, now that is a name I have heard." The look she gave him demanded he explain, and he duly did. "Some of the other Jōnin, the ones who've worked with you at least, speak very highly of you."  
"Uh, thank you, Gai-san," she replied with a prideful grin. Whether friend or stranger, every Shinobi responded well to positive comments.

"You never struck me as a festival goer Gai-sensei. What brings you here?" He was about to answer but was cut off as another, much younger voice beat him to the punch. "Sensei?" the young voice asked from behind the veteran Jōnin. "Perfect timing," Gai grinned before stepping aside.

' _Oh, of course, Gai-sensei has a Genin team now and… by Kami, Gai has a mini-me! Same outfit, same leg warmers, same haircut and the eyebrows? Why does he have the same eyebrows?_ ' Tri asked himself, his mind utterly focused on this one Genin, so much so he didn't even register the other two.

"Tri-kun, Sakura-san. Allow me to introduce my Genin team," Gai declared, the pride evident in his voice. "Firstly is Tenten," he said introducing the teams only female member. She gave them a smile and a brief wave and Tri felt he recognised her but he couldn't quite remember where from.

"Secondly, Hyūga Neji." This time there was no wave or smile, in fact, the pale-eyed boy looked at them both with barely veiled disdain. Tri thought about glaring back but decided against it.

"And finally," he said dropping a hand of his lookalikes shoulder, "This is Rock Lee," the boy grinned back.

They both spotted it immediately, it was so glaringly obvious it left each of them wondering how Gai himself hadn't noticed. It was the way he spoke when introducing his three students. It wasn't for a lack of enthusiasm, not at all. Both Tenten and Neji had been introduced with vigour but the way he introduced Lee was evidently different.

Both could barely contain their winces as they gave each other a quick glance. It seemed it wasn't just them that knew it too, it seemed Neji and Tenten both had long since noticed it. Neji's already broody expression darkened further while Tenten simultaneously rolled her eyes while looking away.

Gai had done what no Jōnin Sensei should do, he'd chosen a favourite, he likely hadn't even realised but it was so easy to spot. You were expected to treat all three of your Genin equally without question. Picking favourites bred resentment in the others.

Neji's scowl actually softened slightly in a surprising turn of events. It appeared that he had noticed that the two of them had noticed and he'd seen their reactions to it.

The worst thing to do now would be to talk to Lee first so he turned his attention back to the bun-haired Tenten, why she was familiar still pestered him. "I feel like we've met before Tenten-san but I cannot recall when or where."  
"K and S's Shinobi Outfitting," she supplied and the relevant memories immediately jumped from his sub-consciousness. "Yes, that was it," he said with a click of his fingers. "Thank you for your recommendation of the sword restoration kit, it worked splendidly."  
"Uh, you're welcome," she replied with a small smile.

"Team, this is Uzumaki Tri, heir to the Uzumaki clan," Gai's introduction made Neji's face darken once more. It immediately allowed Tri to identify him as a branch member, ' _Resentful of the main Hyūga family. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't like that seal on my forehead._ '

"And finally, his close friend, Chūnin Haruno Sakura," Gai said completing the introductions. The pink haired woman gave them all a quick wave.

"So why are you and your team here Gai-sensei? In Shinobi garb no less," Tri asked. "We're actually on a mission," he replied. "Festival Security?" Sakura guessed. Gai nodded, "Precisely."

Tri let out a small chuckle. While he himself had never undertaken this mission, it was renowned for being preposterously easy. Who in their right mind steals from a stall, or attempts to cause trouble at a festival attended by hundreds of Shinobi; you had to utterly daft to even try.

' _I'll have to mention this to Minusha-chan. It may allay her 'missing the festival' fears,_ ' he thought.

"And while easy, we were at least fulfilling the mission until someone," Tenten said glaring at Lee, "Had to go and challenge Neji to yet another challenge, this time to see who could score more points at a throwing game stall." Her voice was filled with unbridled frustration.

"That's my Lee!" Gai cheered, "Always looking for new and innovative ways to improve!"  
"Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted back.  
"Lee!"  
"Gai-sensei!"

They both spontaneously burst into tears of joy and hugged it out. Tenten and Neji both let out a resignated sigh as they immediately backed away. Sakura leaned closer to both of them, "Is this normal?" she asked them. "Yes," all three of them said back.

Neji and Tenten looked at Tri in surprise, "Yeah, he's always been like this," Tri said as the joyous hug continued.

Then the Genjutsu appeared, a bright shining sun rose from behind them as a thin but tall rainbow arched overhead. "Okay… That's new. Is Lee doing that?"  
"No, Lee can't use Genjutsu," Neji replied blankly. "So, who or what is casting it?"  
"We don't know. My Byakugan can't see anything." Tri brought his Sharingan to bare but after a few moments, "Nor can my Sharingan."

Thankfully it only lasted a few more seconds before fading. And Gai and Lee released one another, much to the relief of everyone else.

"So… who won?" Sakura asked trying to get them somewhat back on topic. "I did, of course," Neji arrogantly stated, a tone that seemed to visibly irk Tenten, judging by the dirty look she shot Neji's way. This was cause for a yet another concerned look between Tri and Sakura.

They almost missed Neji's following comment, "After all Lee, you're always going to lose to me no matter the circumstances, that is your fate."

That proved the tipping point for Sakura and Tri, both sub-consciously coming to the same decision that enough was enough and it was time to bail. With some rapid words from Tri, using the excuse that were things they wished to do before the evening set in they made their escape.

As they departed, Gai turned to his Genin. "And there you go, you've now met all three members of the Prodigal Three."

( **A/N** : Itachi's meeting with Team Gai will be an Omake whenever I get around to writing it.)

Neji snorted, "And out of the three of them, this one may be the most unimpressive."  
"And you'll remember what I told you, Neji-kun."  
"Yes, yes. That looks can be deceiving," he irritably retorted. "Yes, so while he may not carry similar muscle mass to Naruto-kun nor carry himself in the same manner as Itachi-kun he is still a very impressive Shinobi.

"All those speed exercises I have you do, he helped me design. All those Genin speed records at the Hokage Tower have his name at the top. I genuinely wonder whether he's actually quicker than I am now." That got a reaction out of the three of them.

"If you want to be the best, then it's those three whose achievements you have to surpass. In modern times, they are the standard setters for just what a Genin team can accomplish. I also wouldn't be surprised if one day, they're spoken off in a similar light to the Sannin."

"They were that good?" Tenten asked in slight disbelief, she held Tsunade above all others and found it difficult to accept there might be others who were as good as she was at the same age. Gai nodded in answer to her question. "As you know the next Chūnin Exams are only a few months away, I highly recommend you visit the library and watch the tapes of their matches in Kumogakure. That will give you a better idea of what they, at ten years old, were capable of."

Sakura cast a quick glance over her shoulder, "Okay, they can't see us anymore," she informed Tri. "You saw it too, didn't you?" she asked, "Yeah. It was hard to miss."  
"How could Gai-san have let it get so bad?"  
"I fear it's because he simply hasn't noticed Sakura-chan. For all his ability he is liable to miss the obvious at times. Out of all four of them, only Tenten is focused on acting as if she's a part of a team."

Sakura nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Lee-san is solely focused on proving himself against Neji-san which only antagonises the Hyūga. Gai-san is too busy trying to support Lee-san, which some may say is admirable, but they forget, it's mandatory. As their Sensei he should be supporting all of them, equally. And as for Neji-san, well, he just strikes me as utterly self-centred."

"Well analysed Sakura-chan," he commended, "But I think Neji-san has a major chip on his shoulder too," Tri added. "What do you mean?"  
"He doesn't think much of clans, I spotted it as soon as Gai-sensei mentioned I was heir to the Uzumaki clan."  
"Branch family?"  
"I believe so, he covers his forehead and that's where the seal goes."

Tri felt no small measure of pride at how well she has picked apart the problems and their causes. But then, it shouldn't come as a surprise. Sakura knew what a good Jōnin sensei looked and acted like. She'd lucked out and been assigned to the very best in the village. Five Genin teams, fifteen Genin promoted to Chūnin within two years, a perfect record.

-(*)-

"Did you tell your parents about it?" a scandalised Hana asked. She, like the other members of Naruto's tea,m knew of Rezano's troubles with morons, but to see morons act in so brazen a fashion was truly gobsmacking. They could only shake their heads in fierce disapproval as Naruto regaled them the tale of what had happened just a few hours earlier.

They were appalled, but not surprised; not anymore.

"Yeah, I told them, Kaa-chan was livid as you might expect. Like. Properly. Ready to kill someone. Angry. I think I warned the two of them about the wrong family member. Sure, Tri-kun would put them in hospital but Kaa-chan might put them in the ground.

"It would be no one's fault but theirs. To even refer to an S-Rank secret in public is unbelievably stupid, but to earn the ire of Uzumaki Kushina by insulting one of her children is outright suicidal," Suzushii said. "I won't argue with that," Naruto sighed before leaning his head back and pouring the remains of his cup of Sake into his mouth.

"How's Rezano-san holding up?" Shinsuke asked him. "He was a little down for a while but Minusha-chan, the angel, was able to cheer him up."  
"That's good to hear," Hana said. Naruto's time with the family was done for today. He would spend the rest of the evening with friends. The next few hours would be spent working their way through a few bottles of Sake between them.

Naruto didn't even really like drinking alcohol all that much, in particular, the stronger stuff but it was a festival so he loosened up a little. It wasn't so much the taste, he actually quite like the warmth the liquid provided when it travelled down his throat; he just hated being drunk.

Like, really hated it. He had been drunk once his entire and that provided sufficient experience. It was the hangover the morning after that got him, never again he'd sworn.

"They know about it now, so I expect it'll be dealt with before long," he said bringing the matter to an end as he refilled his small porcelain cup. That small cup, with no more than 15ml of Sake, would probably last him about half an hour. He sipped at it, as opposed to Tsunade's 'down in one go' approach.

"Have you seen Tri-san at all, Naruto?" Shinsuke inquired before a silence descended on them. The Blonde shook his head, "No, not since he left late this morning to collect Sakura-san. I take it then, that you have?"  
"Oh, we have indeed. He and the pretty lady he's with seemed to be enjoying themselves greatly."  
"I trust you left them both be?" Naruto asked, his voice carrying a firm undertone. Shinsuke raised his hands up in mock surrender, "Yes, yes. We left them be. And speaking of pretty ladies."

Naruto was about to ask what he was on about but he noticed Shinsuke's eyes looking past him. Then he felt the lithe arms snake around his neck as someone leaned heavily on his back.

' _Trenchcoat? Check. Hitai-ate on the forehead? Check. Belt Buckle just above the waist? Check. Yep, that's Anko._ '

"Hello Anko-chan," Naruto said in as monotone a voice as possible, his head never turning. "Oh, you're no fun. You always know it's me and stop with the chan honorific, I'm not your sister," the Tokubetsu Jōnin moped.

"It's too obvious it's you Anko," he explained. "Oh yeah, how?" she challenged, Naruto smirked. "Because Anko-chan." *She growled in his ear*, "You are the only busty Kunoichi I know who makes a habit of trying to rest her boobs as far up my back as possible."

"Oh hush, you know you like it," she retorted before turning her head slightly and whispering, "Damn."  
"Well, I'd be lying if I said otherwise."

The back and forth was just another instalment in the unspoken game played between Naruto and Anko over the past two years. The general idea was Anko would attempt to make Naruto blush, by almost any means necessary. There was only one rule; words only.

So far, two years down the line, Naruto was the unquestionable leader, his unspoken of Jūnishi training meant he hadn't blushed once, much to Anko's frustration. It definitely wasn't for a lack of effort on her part, at times she'd pushed him close with comments, suggestions and descriptions that almost defied belief.

On more than one occasion she had, in excruciating detail, described all the sexual acts she'd let Naruto do to her if he'd just blush. But he'd held out, not because he wanted to win their little game but because he was concerned she'd actually drag him to her bed and have him do just that if he did, and as fun as that would be, his affections were very much focused elsewhere.

Seeing she was going to get no blush again today, she did the one thing that was guaranteed to get a reaction out of him. It might not be a blush but it was something, she lightly bit his earlobe. "Gah! I wish you'd stop doing that, Anko," he grumbled as he jerked his head to the side, out of range of her teeth.

"You only have to blush once, then I'll stop doing it," she grinned. "And that ain't going to happen because you won't be satisfied with one blush, you'll soon want a second, then a third and..." She cut him off, "…And then you'll finally give in and have your wicked way with me," she said in a mock-dreamy voice, a voice that someone only used when their imagination was running wild.

Someone did blush at that last comment, unfortunately for Anko it was Hana, even Suzushii had a light red tinge while Shinsuke just watched on with a ridiculously wide grin, he loved watching the two of them trade verbal blows.

"You are unbelievable," Naruto shook his head. "I know darling," Anko sighed, leaning on him a little more, "That's what they all say."

They collectively burst into a fit of amused chuckles.

"Why don't you join us Anko?" Naruto invited after they'd all calmed down. "Uh, sure, but only if you buy me Dango afterwards," she countered. Naruto snorted, "Alright, I'll buy you Dango later," he agreed, sliding over to one side of the small bench he was sat on.

She sat down next to him, "Thanks," she said as Suzushii offered her a filled cup. She gladly accepted it, she then raised it slightly, "Cheers," she said, the rest quickly followed suit.

-(*)-

The hours passed by and afternoon passed into early evening as the opening day of the Natsu festival began to wind down. The majority of the assembled crowds would return tomorrow, but for now were heading home, Tri and Sakura among them.

After finding somewhere to eat they'd spent the following hours wandering wherever the flow took them, partaking in anything that took their interest.

But, it eventually came time to call it a night and they were currently in the midst of returning Sakura home. The young pink-haired woman once again had her arms wrapped around his and wearily rested her head against his upper arm as they slowly strolled back through the village.

"Did you have fun?" he asked. Lifting her head from his arm she answered with a smile, "Absolutely. Thank you." She squeezed his arm again as she spoke. "Thank you seems to have become the phrase of the day," he pointed out. "I had noticed," she said with a light-hearted giggle, "But I'd say it's justified."  
"I suppose you're right there."

"Did you enjoy today?" she asked in return. His apprehensiveness leading up to today meant her voice carried a tentative edge. "D'ya know, I did, I really did." The neutral expression on her face morphed into a beaming smile. "I'm glad," she quietly said, snuggling her head back into his arm as they turned the corner onto Sakura's street.

The final few moments of walking passed in silence, they soon came to a halt at the base of the stairs that lead up to the Haruno household and Sakura let go of his arm. "And that my lady, is you, safely escorted home," he joked.

"And this lady thanks you for your escort," she replied before stepping forward to give him a brief but strong hug. "I hope you don't mind if I ask you to take me to a festival again," she said stepping back.

"Not at all, actually I-I'm kinda hoping you do." The beaming smile returned. He was unsure why but Sakura quickly looked over her shoulder up the stairs. He immediately did find out though when she leaned forward and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. She gave him another big grin before shooting up the steps.

She only remembered she hadn't said goodbye until she was halfway up. Coming to a halt and spinning on the spot she gave him a wave, he waved back. He waited until she had shut the door behind her before departing

"I'm home," Sakura called out across the house as she shut the door behind her. "In the dining room," she heard her father call back.

"Hi sweetie," her mother greeted her as she walked into the small dining room, like the majority of the house it was a little cramped, and while the rectangular table could seat six, the room's size meant that only four could realistically sit at the table without feeling like they're being squeezed in. Luckily for Sakura, neither of her parents had taken the seat closest to the arch that led into the room so she didn't have to squeeze past either of them.

"Hi," she greeted both parents as she pulled out the chair and sat. "Have fun?" Kizashi asked. She eagerly nodded as she took the storage scrolls Tri had kindly gifted her out from a pouch built into the inside lining of her outfit.

"Uh-huh, got lots of new additions." Her parents knew the scrolls, therefore, contained cuddly animals, they'd made it into a game when she was younger, the better she got a throwing shuriken and kunai the more cuddly animals she'd win when the festivals came round. They didn't need to know that Tri had won all of today's.

She then began to recount the events of the day.

"Sounds like you'll have nothing new to do with us tomorrow," Kizashi joked, "You've already done everything by the sounds of it."  
"Tou-san!" she pouted, "I'm remembered to leave enough for tomorrow."  
"Oh! I almost forgot. Tsunade-sama approached me today to invite me to a one on one meeting."  
"Goodness, whatever for?" Mebuki asked. "She wants to discuss a training program for me to become a combat medic. Well, we think it's a combat medic."  
"By 'we', you mean you and Tsunade-sama?" her mother asked. "No, me and Tri-kun. It's his doing to begin with. He knew I took an interest in Medical Ninjutsu and human biology so he suggested me to Tsunade-sama. The meetings on Monday."

Despite her best attempts, Mebuki was struggling to be annoyed at Tri on this, he'd only suggested her name, Tsunade had done the rest. "Well, I hope it goes well, sweetheart."  
"Thank you, Kaa-chan. Have you eaten?"  
"Yes, yours is in the oven, you just need to warm it up."  
"Great," she chirped before darting for the kitchen.  
"Are you still convinced Tri-san doesn't have her best interests at heart?" Kizashi asked somewhat smugly, she gave him a stern look but he just laughed it off.

-(*)-

Tri had reached home and after an hour or two with the family downstairs had retired to his room. He sat on the end of his bed and opened the storage scroll and withdrew the contents, a single dog teddy.

It wasn't very big and compared to some of the others he'd won earlier that day was rather simple in design. The dog was sat on its' hind legs and had a white ribbon around its neck. The one Sakura had was identical except for the medallion attached to the ribbon, each dog had half the medallion and when brought together you could clasp the two halves into one.

He stood from his bed and made room for the small dog on the end of a low hanging shelf where it would be easily noticeable. He didn't really know why she'd given it to him, but it was hers to give so had accepted it.

"Yo," a voice said from his doorway. Turning his head found Naruto leaning against the door-frame, he had a slightly flushed look to his face. "Been drinking?" Tri smirked. "A little, how else does one deal with Anko's ceaseless double entendres."  
"Oh, you don't have to tell me, and calling them double entendres is an understatement."  
"I guess. There was one she mentioned today that I didn't understand."

"Was it, by chance, the one with the snake, the log and the jar of honey?" Tri guessed. "Yeah… How did you know?"  
"Because I made the mistake of asking her to explain it and it ranks up there as one of the gravest mistakes I've ever made. Trust me, you don't wanna know."  
"If it were anyone else, I'd question how bad it could be. But given its Anko, I'll take your word for it."

Naruto cleared his throat, "Tou-san told me about the trail they found in the capital." Tri only acknowledged that he'd heard him. "How far are you willing to go over this?"  
"I want them dead, Naruto. Nothing else will satisfy me."

Somewhere far away, a short weasel of a man suddenly shuddered. He didn't know why, there was no one else in the room with him so he shrugged it off and went back to counting the substantial amount of money on the table in front of him.

It was with the fortune before him that he would tighten his stranglehold around a small, often unheard of island just off the coast of Hi no Kuni.

* * *

End Chapter

As you may have been able to tell, the next chapter sees the start of the Wave Arc, there will be a time skip of five/ six months between now and the next chapter.

[ **1** ] – Momoiro is Japanese for pink.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

* * *

 **Review Replies** :

 **Ayaanmalik** : Well I certainly don't have any intention of quitting this half way through, no need to worry on that front. And as for whom the 'main character' it tends to shift from chapter to chapter, arc to arc. I'm trying to keep a balance so it's not too much OC and not too little OC. So there'll be stints where Tri takes a step into the background to allow me to develop another's story/ character.

 **DragonBall Shin** : I do have a Narrative Framework of how the main story will unfold, that goes all the way to the end of Shippuden. But the smaller narrative elements I usually add at a later date, sometimes whilst writing the chapter they're introduced in.

 **Guest** : I'm glad to. XD

* * *

To Nami no Kuni

-(*)-

"Do you understand the orders given to you?"  
"Hai, Hokage-sama," was the succinct reply. "Repeat them back to me," the Yondaime ordered. And the sole ANBU before him did just that, repeating almost word for word what Minato had dispensed to them just moments earlier.

"Excellent. Now, I trust you can remain professional throughout this? I know you've been waiting for this for years, but you represent far more than just yourself. You represent Konoha and the Jūnishi as well. Furthermore, you won't be the only Konoha Shinobi in Nami no Kuni."

The mask-clad ANBU tilted their head to the side, "Hokage-sama?" they asked curiously. "Hatake Kakashi and Genin Team 7 are already on the island conducting a C-Rank mission. But the situation has developed since then."  
"How so, Hokage-sama?"

"I received a carrier bird from Team 7 in the early hours of this morning. Team 7 has requested reinforcements after running into several Kirigakure missing-nin, including Momochi Zabuza."  
"The Kirigakure no Kijin (Demon of the hidden mist) himself? Does this mean I have supplementary orders, Hokage-sama?"

"It does not, although if you're able to keep an eye on them; do so. A reinforcing group has already been dispatched."

"Might I inquire as to whom?"  
"You may, Raven. One of Tsunade-hime's newest medic squads led by Haruno Sakura was on a botanical survey mission in Hi no Kuni's eastern regions. I have reassigned them to support Team 7 until their mission is completed.

"My level of anonymity?"  
"You already know your mission rank, you may not directly disclose the specifics of your mission but you may do so indirectly, Kakashi-kun will understand. You may reveal your identity to Kakashi-kun and Sakura-san by choice, the rest only if you feel you need to," Minato explained.

"I understand, Hokage-sama. Will that be all?"  
"Yes, that's everything," Minato answered walking around his desk. He placed a hand on the ANBU's shoulder, "Please be careful. I would prefer to send another with you but only three individuals are cleared for this mission. And Naruto-kun is needed here as the Iwa delegation are due to arrive tomorrow and Weasel is already out on a mission."

"It is of no concern, Hokage-sama." Minato's hand dropped from his shoulder, "Very well. ANBU Raven, you may begin your mission."  
"Hai."

The ANBU was gone the moment he's finished speaking. Turning to look out the window as another morning arrived in Konoha, Minato breathed out a small sigh, ' _Where is Team Ro? They're now a day overdue_.'

-(*)-

That mission brief was this morning, it was now late afternoon, soon to be early evening. Raven had shot across central and eastern Hi no Kuni, he'd reach the coast or get very close before nightfall and cross to the island the following morning. He'd been travelling north of 300% the speed of a standard ANBU squad.

It was perhaps a little excessive, but he felt it necessary. After all, this was Momochi Zabuza who had tried to kill his younger sibling, it wasn't every day a Genin faced up against someone of that calibre, even less survived to tell of it.

Zabuza was another of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū (Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist). Should his identity be revealed, it was possible Zabuza might know him, which could prove interesting. Perhaps he'd get the opportunity to take his sword tally to two?

He estimated Sakura wouldn't arrive until tomorrow either, despite her being much closer, she would have to wait until the carrier bird reached her before she'd know of her reassignment.

The coast wasn't far now, the faintest traces of the nearby ocean was beginning to reach his nostrils. There were no hills or natural obstacles stopping the ocean breeze from blowing inland.

Despite the proximity to Nami no Kuni, this part of Hi no Kuni was almost completely devoid of human habitation. There were no towns, no villages, not even remote farms. Other than the odd hunter or logger path, the land was untouched.

' _I may want to stop before long, it'll be dark soon.'_

It was another fifteen minutes before Raven decided to call it for the day, he'd come across a small dirt path that meandered through the endless trees. The ANBU, despite it being several miles inland, presumed it to be a coastal trail that led to a dock of some sort, how else would people and goods go to and return from the island?

' _This spot looks as good as any,_ ' he thought as he found a flat piece of ground beneath a large oak tree, just a single smooth surfaced rock was present to break up the sea of grass, it didn't look too uncomfortable to sit on. He withdrew a few of the things from his storage seals he needed to set up camp for the night when he heard it.

A voice. No, two voices, they sounded faint, muffled, as if they'd been gagged. He quietly stalked around for a few minutes, it didn't take him long to find them.

Two individuals, both clad in grey camouflage Shinobi clothing, rebreather masks covered their faces, one had a large clawed gauntlet on his right hand, the other on the left. Around both their foreheads was the Hitai-ate of Kirigakure.

Strangely they were both tied to a tree, strong ninja wire was wrapped around their midriffs, their hands bound together. They looked a little beat up, their clothing featured a few scuff marks and small rips.

"Well, well. If it isn't the Oni Kyōdai (Demon Brothers), Gōzu and Meizu. What could possibly bring two middle of the pack Kiri missing-nin to the back end of nowhere in Hi no Kuni?"

He managed to startle the twin brothers, neither had noticed his presence until he'd spoken. They turned their heads to face him, much of the colour drained from their faces as they realised a Konoha ANBU was standing in front of them.

The remaining colour drained entirely as he removed his mask. They recognised him, it didn't matter that they did, they wouldn't live long enough to tell anyone. Both had bounties that could be claimed after all.

-(*)-

 **The Following Morning**

Besides Team 7 and the oncoming ANBU, there was another pair of Konoha Shinobi either on or heading to Nami no Kuni. They'd wasted an hour this morning trying to find someone who'd take them across to the island, but for a reason that was unknown to them, the rates were extortionate. Eventually they'd given up and simply walked across the ocean.

And now they were passing through the outer limits of the largest town on the island. Clad in the flak jackets that identified them as Chūnin, they also wore around their right arm a white band of cotton, a red cross sown on top, this was the marker denoting them as Medical personnel.

Twenty-four hours earlier they'd been in the midst of surveying the eastern regions of Hi no Kuni for its botanical potential. No one had ever undertaken such a survey before and the hospital in Konoha wanted to know what plants were where and in what quantities. It didn't matter whether it aided a cold or coagulated blood, Tsunade wanted to know.

The surveys were being conducted all over Konoha. Turns out Hi no Kuni is rather rich in a variety of useful plants and with them now catalogued they could be cultivated and put to use.

But for now, they'd had to put that aside, which was slightly frustrating but what can you do, they'd been given direct orders from the Hokage himself to reinforce Genin Team 7 in the nearby Nami no Kuni. Also annoyingly, the orders they'd been given were bizarrely lacking in details, it did mention they'd find out more upon arrival but Sakura liked to know these details in advance. No Shinobi liked surprises on missions.

"Do you know where we're going exactly?" her colleague, a fellow Chūnin called Kusuri [ **1** ] asked. She'd joined Tsunade's medical class at the same time as Sakura and over the months that followed they'd become friends.

"Sort of, I was given a description on the house we're looking for in our reassignment orders. We're looking for a house on the southern outskirts of the town, it's built on top a small hill overlooking the sea."  
"Anything else?" Kusuri asked, it was hardly the greatest description.

"Well… It also said there was a grove of trees about fifty feet from the house but…"  
"That's no help…" Kusuri grumbled. "Why do you think I didn't mention it," Sakura grinned back.

Kusuri and Sakura were similar in many respects. They both came from clan less Shinobi families, Kusuri's father was a Chūnin like Sakura's, while her mother was a Jōnin. They were both promoted to Chūnin at the same time, although Kusuri was two years older.

"How about that one? Fits the description," the brown-haired young woman said pointing at a house. Sure enough, it was atop a small hill and overlooked a calm sea. "Looks the part, let's give it a try," Sakura suggested as she led them both up to the door, raising her hand she knocked.

As she rapped her knuckles against the door she heard the sounds of a conversation cut off. She heard what sounded like several bodies scrambling around, the sound of wooden chairs moving across wooden floors.

The door opened, but all of about three inches. Sakura could see a thin metal chain attached to the door and doorframe, ' _A nervous bunch it seems_.'

"Can I help you?" a feminine voice asked.

"Morning Ma'am, Konoha Shinobi here to reinforce Team 7 at the request of Jōnin Hatake Kakashi," Sakura neutrally, but calmly stated. Standard protocol dictated she not name herself.

As for the woman, she looked nervous, her eyes wouldn't meet hers. Then she vanished, it was followed by hushed whispers for a few seconds, then she reappeared. "As part of your reassignment orders you received a code. What is the code?" Sakura could tell the woman was trying to hold her nerve, her voice sounded frayed.

"9-9-9-10-1-7," [ **2** ] Sakura clearly spoke. The woman turned away, presumably to look at someone else. A moment later the door shut, the latch holding the chain in was removed and the door opened properly this time.

They were both quickly hurried inside and the door shut behind them. ' _Somethings got them spooked_ ,' Sakura noted as she was finally able to get a good look at the woman she'd been talking to. She had long blue hair that fell down either side of her face. Her outfit consisted of a pink shirt featuring red sleeve ends and a red collar with a long blue skirt.

Next to her was a young teenage girl in Shinobi clothing, a Konoha Hitai-ate wrapped around her arm. Kusuri saw the mark of Konoha too, "Yep, definitely the right house," she said.

"Your names?" the girl asked as the blue-haired woman refastened the metal chain. "Haruno Sakura, Chūnin CMC."  
"Kusuri, Chūnin CML." The girl nodded in greeting to them both before replying in kind, "Nara Meshikamaru, Genin, Team 7. And this is Tsunami-san who has very kindly offered us the hospitality of her home."  
"Tsunami-san," they both greeted her, she gave them a wave and a weak smile in return.

"Anyway, as things stand you're in charge Haruno-san," Meshikamaru said.

"Why? Where's your Jōnin sensei?"  
"Upstairs in bed, currently unconscious."  
"How?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow. "Chakra exhaustion," Meshikamaru answered.

"Kusuri," Sakura started to say but they'd both had the same idea. "I'm on it. Tsunami-san, might I ask you to take me to him." The woman nodded and bid Kusuri follow her upstairs.

"How you all holding up?" Sakura asked the weary-looking Nara. She looked exhausted, physically and mentally, her skin was a little pasty and the bags under her eyes were prominent. She let out a big sigh, "We're all ok. Fighting for your life is going to take some getting used to though."  
"Yeah, that takes a while."

"I'm just glad you're here now. We arrived on the island and were attacked almost immediately, then sensei collapsed and it's been an anxious wait for someone to arrive, no idea if we were going to be attacked again or not," she blurted out.

Sakura put her hands on her young comrade's shoulders and gently pushed a little chakra into her. "Don't worry, we're here now so you can relax a little. It's not healthy being this highly strung, you're going to burn out of you aren't careful."  
"I know, I know. It's-it's just I've been having to do everything and…"  
"Whoa, whoa. What do you mean you've been doing everything? What have your teammates been doing this whole time?" Sakura quasi-demanded in a calm voice.

"Sitting around doing next to nothing," she bitterly replied. Sakura was deeply unimpressed. She knelt down on one knee bringing her eyes level with Meshikamaru's. "You've done splendidly. You're still just a Genin, you aren't supposed to be worrying over command structures and such. Yet look at what you've achieved despite that. "I presume it was you who sent the request for reinforcements?"

"Yeah," she quietly replied. "But my teammates weren't too happy with that. They said I was worrying too much."  
"Well ignore them because they're wrong. With your commanding officer indisposed you stepped up and assumed command. You made the correct decision in requesting reinforcements," she tried to reassure her. It seemed to help as she gave her a weak smile. The chakra flow seemed to return a colour to her cheeks too.

"Now I'm going to go see to your sensei. Then we're all going to meet and the four of you are going to bring me and Kusuri-san up to speed. I'm going to chew your teammates out for making you do everything at some point by the sounds of it too. But before all that, you need a nap, ok?" Meshikamaru wearily nodded. She gave her a little push to get her moving.

Sakura waited a few seconds before following her. She was taking the first steps in memorising the house layout. She was about to take the first step up the stairs when Tsunami began to descend them.

Sakura stepped back allowing the older woman to pass her. "Thank you Sakura-san."  
"No problem," she smiled. "Where am I heading?"

"End of the corridor, the door on the left." Sakura quickly thanked her before walking up the thirteen steps to the upper floor, again memorising the layout. The locations of doors, positioning and size of windows, length and width of corridors. All that knowledge could be used to defend a structure.

She spotted a door slightly ajar, a small face staring at her. As soon as they realised Sakura had noticed them they quickly shut the door. Sakura shrugged her shoulders and continued down the hall.

Kusuri, her hands glowing green while held over the unconscious Hatake Kakashi's chest, was focusing on bringing his chakra levels back up when she was joined by Sakura. "How is he?" she asked in a professional tone as she shut the door behind her.

"He's exhausted, chakra reserves at I'd guess about 5-10%. But other than a few cuts and bruises he's physically fine."  
"Ok. Are you good to continue delivering chakra?"  
"Yes," she replied without moving a muscle. "Good, I'll see to the cuts since they don't look tended to. Don't want him suddenly developing an infection."

Without another word, they set to work.

-(*)-

 **Back in Konoha**

Naruto and his team waited patiently at Konoha's western gate. Their guests were technically a few minutes late but they could see them in the distance. Besides it was a long way from Iwagakure, only being a few minutes late was somewhat impressive.

It would be nice to see Kurotsuchi again, he hadn't seen her since their joint mission months earlier. And as much as Naruto enjoying talking with her over their communication scrolls, it wasn't the same as a face to face conversation.

"We taking them straight to the Hokage?" Shinsuke asked walking up next to him. "Yeah, after they've signed in at the check-in station," he replied. "Cool," Shinsuke said. Naruto turned his head a little to look at him, his voice had sounded a little off.

Shinsuke wasn't looking at him, he was instead looking, no, more peering down the road trying to see if he could make out any faces. Naruto couldn't help but smirk, ever since they'd completed the joint mission Shinsuke had been less… outspoken shall we say.

Less outspoken about one of his greatest interests – women. Quite simply, Shinsuke was a womanizer and a prolific one at that – or at least he had been. In recent months it had become rarer and rarer to see him with his arm around a pretty ladies waist. Naruto had assumed he was just growing out of it and otherwise not paid much attention. Now, however, it intrigued him greatly as Shinsuke continued trying to pick out faces in the approaching crowd.

He seemed to have spotted someone he knew because his face suddenly lit up in enthusiasm. Naruto turned to look at the approaching group of Iwa personnel. Kurotsuchi in the middle, next to her father, a few diplomats he recognised from previous exchanges, and a short Kunoichi that was familiar to him.

He wondered why she was familiar for a few moments before it came to him. This was the medic who'd tended to Shinsuke's injuries after their run-in with the Ishi nin.

Suddenly, Shinsuke's lack of interest in women, formerly not of importance or concern to him, was now of great interest. ' _My, my, Shinsuke. Could it be you've developed a crush?_ '

This, the third diplomatic exchange was shaping up to be most fascinating indeed.

-(*)-

"And we're done," Sakura declared, wiping the sleeve of her top against her forehead, they may have only been small cuts but a great deal of concentration was still required.

Medical Ninjutsu revolved around encouraging the body's healthy cells to divide at a greatly accelerated rate. To do that literally shortened the patient's life, so great care was taken to ensure only cells around the injury divided. Sakura's work today likely shortened Kakashi's life by two to three minutes.

"Thank Kami for that," Kusuri tiredly groaned as she sat on the edge of the bed. It had taken them an hour to finish.

Kusuri definitely looked a little jaded which wasn't a surprise, transferring chakra was an energy-intensive affair. Not because it was difficult to achieve, moving chakra from one person to another was fairly simple. The problem was the patients chakra coils, they would only accept around 30% of the transferred chakra, the rest simply went to waste.

"Did you bring any energy bars with you?"  
"Yeah," Kusuri answered, pulling herself to her feet she walked over to her backpack which she'd left against the far wall. "Do you want one?" she asked, taking out a bar for herself. "No thank you, the cuts were only mentally straining, I didn't need to use much chakra."

"Alright, I'm gonna go get some fresh air, it's a bit stuffy in here." She said between bites. "Ok, I'm gonna stay here and wait for him to wake up."

They both nodded to one another and Kusuri left. Sakura sat in the rooms only chair, but not before taking a book from her own backpack.

It was only about half an hour before the sole living member of the Hatake family began to stir. A few moments later his right eye opened. "Welcome back to the world of the living Kakashi-san," Sakura greeted him.

"Huh?" he slurred a little. He let his head fall to the left to see who'd spoken. He could make out a human-shaped figure but his vision was marginally blurred, he could see the light pink blob on their head.

"Sakura-san?" he guessed, blinking several times trying to get his eyesight to focus. Besides, he knew no one else with such hair. "Correct in one, Kakashi-san," she smirked closing the book in her hand. "How do you feel? You did a real number on yourself out there."

"Apart from a massive headache and feeling dead-tired, I'm alright, my Sharingan takes a huge amount of chakr… Wait, my team!?" he suddenly exclaimed, shooting up into a sitting position as the memories flooded back.

"Are absolutely fine," she reassured him, a firm hand on his shoulder pushing him back down against the pillow. Despite wearing a mask that covered almost his entire face, the relief was evident. "How long have I been out?"  
"Not sure, I've only been here for about an hour. You'd have to ask your Genin."  
"So you don't know what's happened either?"  
"Nope," she said shaking her head.

"I take it you're here as reinforcements?"  
"Correct."  
"Just you?"  
"No, me and my colleague Kusuri."  
"So who's the ANBU in the corner?" Sakura spun on the spot, a kunai appearing from somewhere into her right hand as she fell into a defensive stance.

A low, warbled, faintly distorted chuckle came from the corner of the room as a disillusion Genjutsu faded away to reveal a masked figure leaning against the wall. "As observant as ever Kakashi," they commended, a vicious grin hidden behind the porcelain bird mask.

"Who are you?" Sakura demanded in a low hiss. "Sakura," Kakashi quietly barked, "Stand down, he's Konoha ANBU."  
"You know them?" she asked, her eyes never shifting from the ANBU. "Yes, he's called Raven."  
"Dog," they replied in greeting.

Kakashi sole visible eyebrow furrowed a little. "I left ANBU years ago," he tried. Raven simply shrugged, "And I'm only supposed to wear this mask on a part-time basis yet I never seem to take it off."

Not fully understanding their conversation Sakura tried to move it on. "How long have you been there?"  
"No longer than you, I entered the house when you did."  
"Why? What are you here for?"  
"Classified," he brusquely replied. "But with conditions," he added.

"Conditions?" Kakashi said in surprise. "Why is that a surprise?" Sakura queried. "Classified missions with conditions are pretty rare. What are the conditions?"  
"I'm permitted to reveal my identity to you both, and to the others if needed. Despite having my own assignment on Nami no Kuni, I'm to keep an eye on your assignment and if needed aid in its completion."

As he finished speaking his lifted a hand to the Raven mask and he removed it. His mask had specially made one-way colour filters that allowed him to see out without issue but prevented colours being seen when looking in. Everyone only saw black eyes, which was necessary as black/ green and black/ red eyes made it incredibly easy to identify him.

"Tri-kun?" Sakura lowly said in surprise, the kunai in her hand completely forgotten. "Hello to you too, Sakura-chan. Fancy losing the kunai before the hugging, I'd prefer not to get stabbed," he grinned, the sharp end was aimed straight at him.

With a small look of embarrassment she put in back in her hip pouch. "Sorry," she quietly apologised. "Don't worry about it, you're only being cautious" he said stepping forward, lifting her off the ground in a big hug.

"So it's only me and Kakashi who know you're here?" she asked hugging him back. "Yes, and I'll be maintaining that for the time being. I don't want to give Tsunami-san and her family a fright, they look jumpy enough right now. But I – we need information, so I need you two to go gather everyone and have them run you through everything that's happened."

Sakura helped Kakashi out of bed, his legs still a little wobbly, as he propped himself up against a chester drawer she handed him a rudimentary crutch. "Until your balance is back," she explained. He nodded as Tri placed his mask back over his face. "I'll drop by from time to time but for the most part I'll be scouring the island, until then – ta, ta." The Genjutsu was reapplied and Tri, as if a mirage, faded from sight.

"Kakashi, how did you see him?"  
"Thanks to my Sharingan, I've learnt to spot many of the subtle signs around Genjutsu."  
"Hmm, I'll have to see if I can learn some of them. I had no idea he was there."  
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, you're not supposed to know they're there."  
"I guess. Let's go round up your Genin."

A few minutes of hustling later, all the Shinobi, including a hidden Tri, were present and awake in the front room of Tsunami's house. The woman herself and her father, the mission client, were also present. The face Sakura had seen behind the door earlier, however, was not.

"Ok gang…" Kakashi started. "Who the hell are these two?" Sasuke immediately interrupted. "Well Sasuke, if you'd allow me to introduce them, you'll find out," he replied with one of his trademark eye smiles as Meshikamaru gave the young Uchiha a scowl for his rudeness.

"This is – Actually, why don't you introduce yourselves."  
"Haruno Sakura, Chūnin CMC."  
"Kusuri, Chūnin CML."

"CMC? CML?" Rezano said to himself. "They're new ranks assigned to graduated Combat Medics, CMC stands for Combat Medic Captain and CML stands for Combat Medic Lieutenant," the young Nara explained, to which Sasuke immediately snorted.

"Oh, great going. Not only did you call for back-up when I told you it was unnecessary but you managed to screw that up and got a pair of glorified doctors instead."

"Combat Medics, not Doctors, Baka!" Meshikamaru fired back, "It's in the name, they're trained to fight and heal. If you'd pull your head out of your ass once in a while, you might have already known that!"

Tsunami and her father Tazuna looked at one another in worry, that's when Sakura stepped in. "Genin Uchiha, Genin Nara. You will cease and fucking desist!" she snarled, allowing a brief blast of killing intent to permeate the room. A calming hand on Tsunami and Tazuna's shoulders from Kakashi stopped them from recoiling in fear.

Both Genin froze, they immediately sat up straight in recognition of a voice of authority. "You," she said to Meshikamaru, "are in the right, so don't rise to his petulance."

"As for you," she coldly barked at Sasuke, "You will hold your fucking tongue or I'll relieve you of it. My presence means I'm the second highest ranking Shinobi here, so you will do as your fucking ordered."

"Yeah right, an Uchiha won't take orders from a glorified doctor," he sneered, finding some of his bravado again. The killing intent returned, this time far stronger.

The look she gave him would have held a charging Rhino. "You, _Genin_ , will obey all orders given to you by your superior officer. You don't comply and I'll be forced to exact the punishment for insubordination." The colour drained from Sasuke's face immediately.

"Punishment?" Tsunami asked no one in particular. Kakashi who was stood next to her and her father filled her in, "The penalty for Insubordination is death." Both gave him a look of horror. "You wouldn't," Tsunami said. "We're a militaristic society, actions have consequences."  
"But he's still just a child."  
"Not in Konoha he isn't, the moment he was awarded the Hitai-ate around his forehead he was emancipated and declared an adult."

Tri, again in the corner of the room sported a wide grin, He was loving watching Sakura chew out Sasuke. Her words were cold, savage and displayed a necessary trait, leadership. Tri wondered whether it might be nearing the time she be recommended for the Jōnin trials.

"Well then, now that that's dealt with, I think it's time you three brought us up to speed on just what's happened since I collapsed," Kakashi mediated, bringing them all back on topic.

And they did just that, although 'they' meant Meshikamaru did all the talking with Rezano occasionally adding a sentence or two, Sasuke said nothing. To Sakura, it was just another example of the two boys pushing all the responsibility onto Meshikamaru. The pink-haired Kunoichi wasn't in doubt over who she thought would be promoted first from Team 7.

It took her nearly twenty minutes to go through everything. For Sakura and Kusuri's sake she started with their encounter with the Demon Brothers before moving onto the white-furred rabbit and the resulting encounter with Zabuza. Their fight with the missing-nin, the sudden arrival of the Kiri hunter-nin and how they killed Zabuza with a sole senbon to the neck. Something which immediately made Tri growl.

Thankfully, Sakura realised too. "Meshikamaru, you said Zabuza got dropped by just a single senbon, yes?"  
"Hai, Sakura-san," she replied with a curt nod. "Could you show me exactly where the senbon hit him." With another nod she raised a finger and placed it against the side of her neck, "Around here," she identified.

Walking over to the girl she carefully ran her fingers across Meshikamaru's neck, it lined up exactly where the nerve would be. "Yeah, I feared it might be something like that."

"What are you thinking?" Kusuri inquired. "Meshikamaru's finger lines up exactly where the Great Auricular nerve is."  
"Ah," Kusuri mumbled. "For the rest of us please, Sakura," Kakashi said. "I don't think Zabuza's dead," she declared. Her declaration was followed by absolute silence.

"Hit that nerve just right and you'll drop someone instantly, their nervous system temporarily goes into shutdown and their hear-rate plummets. It does a brilliant job of mimicking death."  
"But if you don't begin to reawaken the nervous system shortly after you risk causing substantial brain and nerve damage," Kusuri added.

"How long?" Kakashi asked. The two Medics looked at one another, "Half an hour, max," Kusuri replied. Kakashi sighed, "So he must still be on the island."

"So Zabuza could be back on his feet already?" Rezano said in worry. "No," Kusuri said shaking her head. "It takes time to fully reawaken the nervous system after something like this. If he's conscious right now, he'll feel awful, far worse than you currently do Kakashi. I'd estimate a week before he's fit enough to fight again."  
"I concur," Sakura said in agreement.

"So that leaves us five days. Five days from tomorrow at least to train you three as much as possible," Kakashi said to his three Genin. "And this time the fight will be on our terms. Remember, he has to come to us."

-(*)-

 **Elsewhere on Nami no Kuni**

"Knock, knock," a persistently annoying, grating voice said before swinging the door open and barging in. The rooms two occupants didn't react in any discernible manner, a teenage girl continued with her tasks. While the second, an adult male laid out on the bed just groaned in resignation at being subjected to the little weasel he, begrudgingly, called an employer – for now.

The short man cackled, "Look at the state of you Zabuza, sure did a number on you didn't they."  
"The fuck do you want, Gatō?"  
"Hey now, Zabuza. Is that any way to talk to your employer. I'm starting to think you don't like me.

"Anyway, the reason for my visit. Why is the bridge-builder still alive?"  
"Because it's not every day you run into Hatake fucking Kakashi on an insignificant island at the ass end of nowhere," he deeply grumbled. "Are you saying you can't get the job done?"  
"Did I say anything of the sort?" Zabuza retorted fixing the short man with a dangerous glare. "Then do it then. You realise you don't get paid until that old man gets dead."  
"I am aware."

"Good. Now, since I'm not a man known for his patience, I've decided to hire some additional muscle just to make sure since the Dumbass Brothers or whatever the fuck they were called failed so miserably. Apparently you two know each other so I'll just leave you both to get… reacquainted."

Gatō was joined by a woman Zabuza hadn't seen in years, and even then, that still wasn't long enough. With her arrival, Gatō left.

She was of average height, although short compared to other members of the Seven. Her long red hair was still partially covered in a cloth of the same colour. It was also still tied in that same manner he remembered on either side of her head giving her a bird-like appearance. Her Hitai-ate wrapped around her forehead, a pair of black eyes beneath the metal embossed with the symbol of Kirigakure.

Her outfit was still the same. A loose, pin-striped shirt with arm length sleeves, a dark Obi wrapped around her waist. Her black pants were also loose fitting, particularly at the ends of the leg.

"Thought you were dead," Zabuza bluntly said, "Some disease I heard."  
"So they say, Zabuza," she lightly chuckled. "And for most of my illness it seemed inevitable that I would eventually, as you put it – die. But it was not to be, I don't know how, but one day I awoke and I was cured. I've embraced this second lease on life ever since.

"Now, who is this old man bridge-builder you've had so much trouble trying to kill. I'm overdue a meal," she asked him, her lips curving upwards to reveal her sharpened teeth.

* * *

End Chapter

[ **1** ] – Kusuri is Japanese for Medicine

[ **2** ] – Brownie points if you can figure out what the code relates to.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Well, last week, another milestone. Last Friday was the first time this story topped a thousand views in a day which is pretty damn awesome, thank you all!

* * *

 **Review Replies** :

 **Roy Luffy** : I'm not sure whether you'll ever see this but I thought it a good idea to answer regardless. Tri's name comes from a character from a Sci-Fi world of my own design. It's short for Tri'll. I wanted a short name for him so I dropped the double L.

As for Rezano, yeah, I wanted a name that was similar in structure to Naruto, same number of syllables, etc. But it only took me five seconds to come up with Rezano. In hindsight, kinda wished I hadn't and instead given a properly thought out name but I'm kinda stuck with it now. Maybe I'll change it whenever I get around to remastering this story in however many years time.

* * *

Shouting and Chiding

-(*)-

"Tsunami-san, Tazuna-san, I've been meaning to ask. Why does everyone on this island seem so…" Sakura struggled to find the right word. "Destitute?" Kusuri supplied. "Yes, destitute."

Both adults gave one another a brief, nervous glance, they nodded to one another and Tazuna answered.

"To better understand why things are as they are today I need to explain how it began, so we need to go back about eighteen months to when Gatō first arrived. What you see today is a shadow of what this island used to be before he showed up.

"Over the years we've managed to retain our autonomy from the great powers in the region primarily by being self-sufficient. Everything we could make ourselves we did, and kept our imports to a minimum.

"But then Gatō arrived, he swooped in and before we knew it he'd bought up every single company that traded with the island. The first time we realised something was wrong was when enormous import tariffs were levied on everything, through them he began to strangle the island. Sure, we could grow our own food but we lack the industry to make tools so we eventually had no choice other than to pay.

"But then about two to three months in, our crop fields all started failing one after another, in days they went from thriving and healthy to completely dead. Something was wrong with the soil too because nothing would grow from that point on. So from then on we had to import food, again at astronomical prices. As you can imagine, people very quickly began running out of money.

"Some of the more optimistic of the islanders started borrowing from a mainland lender, foreseeing the troubles as only temporary, of course those poor souls had no idea that Gatō owned the lender too, nor were they aware of the obscene interest rates.

"When it came time to repay, they as you expect, couldn't. That when the public beatings started as Gatō unleashed his army of petty thugs on the island. If you couldn't pay you were beaten, then if you couldn't pay the second time they returned then…" He stopped a moment, his voice had been growing more emotional with each passing sentence.

"…Then, well. That's when the killings started and that was if you were a man. If you were a woman, well, you can probably guess…" Tazuna couldn't even finish the sentence. "There was no one to stop it," Tsunami said picking up where her father left off. "We have no government, no one we could turn to. Those who stood up to Gatō were the next to end up in the gallows."

"No one can stand up to Gatō so if you know what's good for you, you'd all leave and never come back!" a young voice emotionally shouted from the archway that led into the hallway. Everyone turned to face the new voice. The boy didn't know it but he was only about two feet from a hidden Tri. ' _Kid's quiet on his feet,_ ' The ANBU hadn't even heard him.

It was the same face Sakura had seen upstairs earlier. The boy waited for no answers as the moment he'd finished shouting at them he ran back upstairs, a door slamming shut.

"Your son by chance?" Kakashi asked Tsunami, she nodded. "Yes Inari-kun lost someone who meant the world to him because of Gatō." Kakashi followed her eyes, she was looking at a picture frame on the wall. The picture was of the three family members they'd now met. Another man was also present in the photograph.

"Your husband?" Kakashi again asked, this time she shook her head. "No, my husband died when Inari-kun was very young. Kaiza-kun was Inari-kun's stepfather for a lack of a better term. He was one of the first to stand up to Gatō. He was subsequently one of the first to the gallows too. Gatō made the whole town watch. Inari-kun's been a broken boy ever since."

Now Tsunami's voice was like her fathers, on the periphery of breaking. That the actions of a single man could so utterly devastate the lives of so many.

"We're going to do something about this, right?" Rezano asked the other Shinobi after a moments silence. It was highly frowned upon to deviate from the assigned mission parameters, the senior Shinobi all had this thought run through their minds. Although they technically had already deviated from the mission by continuing it after their encounter with Zabuza.

"Well?" the Genin followed up as the silence dragged on. Kakashi's mind was processing everything Tazuna and Tsunami had just told them. "Tazuna-san. Would it be correct to assume that it's this Gatō that wants you dead? If your bridge is completed, his stranglehold on the island's economy is broken."  
"Yes," the man quietly replied. "Then I guess it does involve us," Kakashi concluded.

Rezano jumped up from the sofa and was about to exclaim in joy when Kakashi cut him off, "But that does not mean we're going to go out of our way to hunt him down. Our job is to protect Tazuna-san until he finishes his bridge. If Gatō doesn't show before the bridge is complete then we do nothing. If he does, however…" Kakashi didn't finish the sentence, he didn't really need to, everyone knew what he meant.

"But…"  
"No Rezano!" his Sensei shut him down. The boy's head dropped as he sagged back down into the sofa.

Tri watched on, somewhat sympathetic for his younger sibling. Rezano was an idealist with a strong sense of right and wrong, it wasn't a surprise to see him so eager to take action. Despite that he wasn't worried about whether Rezano took action of his own accord or not, Tri knew Gatō wouldn't leave this island alive regardless.

He would have preferred it if Tazuna or Tsunami had gone into more detail on Gatō's whereabouts on the island. His research into the little rat told him he wouldn't be far from the misery he was inflicting. There was just too few people who'd willing speak ill of him for fear of being the next to have the noose wrapped around their neck.

"So what do we do with the rest of today?" Kusuri asked the room. "Well, I don't see any reason to waste half a day indoors so why not start the Genin's training," Sakura suggested, "Of course, what that training is, depends entirely on what Kakashi has already taught them."

…

Silence, absolute silence.

The three Genin took turns nervously glancing at one another while Kakashi suddenly found the wall furthest from Sakura to be of incredible interest. Spotting there may have been a small, tinsey winsy problem, Sakura mustered the most polite voice she could.

"Kakashi-san, what, and be specific now, what exactly have you taught them?" While her voice may have sounded very pleasant, it bore an underlying tone and message. 'Tell me now, or I'm going to hurt you.'

With Kakashi struggling to provide an answer, his Genin trio all sub-consciously decided to well and truly drop him in it. "Almost nothing, Sakura-san," Meshikamaru said with a stony face. Turning to face the young Kunoichi, Sakura again put on that sweet tone. "Could you please elaborate, Meshikamaru-san?"

"Team Exercises and basic Taijutsu, that's it. Technically we didn't really learn anything new," she bitterly answered. "I see, thank you. Kakashi-san, could you come with me please." Everyone knew it wasn't a request. Like a scolded child the veteran Jōnin followed the Chūnin outside. It wasn't long before they heard the shouting.

"How the actual fuck! How have you taught them so fucking little. They've been in your care for six damn months and you've nothing to show for it."

It continued for several minutes and every time Kakashi tried to speak Sakura would cut him off before continuing to berate him. Everyone else left in the house listened in awkward silence although Tri was struggling not to laugh. Kakashi's inherent laziness had finally gotten him in trouble.

He was no illusion as to the faults of his own Sensei, Genma was far from the hardest of workers. But if one of the three of them needed extra help with something, Tri and Taijutsu sprung to mind, then he would do so without fail.

Almost ten minutes after leaving Sakura and Kakashi re-entered the house. Sakura looked fairly satisfied with herself while Kakashi looked utterly frazzled. "Tazuna-san, are you planning on returning to the bridge at any point today?"  
"Uh, no, Sakura-san," he nervously answered.  
"Excellent. Then I'll be taking the Genin with me for the rest of the day," she stated, again it wasn't up for debate. "Kusuri," are you ok to keep an eye on Kakashi?" The young woman nodded and Sakura smiled, "Great, then up you get you three and follow me."

Ten minutes later she had them going through a warm-up sequence she herself used although it was toned down a fair amount. She'd found a clearing in the trees not far from the house.

She was leaned one arm against a tree as she watched the three of them. She sensed a tiny chakra presence a few feet behind her and it steadily drew closer. She knew the chakra signature was Tri's, it was his way of telling her he was there without startling her. He was stood right behind her for a few seconds before he spoke, his voice barely a whisper.

"I've slipped a note in your back pouch, read it when you have a chance." Then he was gone. Sakura didn't react in the slightest, she didn't want any of the Genin asking questions.

-(*)-

 **Elsewhere on Nami no Kuni**

"Really? Mmm how exciting. Hatake Kakashi is on this little island."  
"Yep, blasted Sharingan and all," he grumbled. "Oh dear Zabuza. What would people say if they heard you complaining like a child?" she asked flashing him a toothy grin.  
"Oh shut it, if it wasn't for his damnable Genin being such nuisances I'd have killed him and the bridge builder, then we wouldn't be having this conversation and I wouldn't be stuck in this fucking bed," he griped which only made her laugh.

"Your complaining about it won't speed up your recovery Zabuza-sama," the youngest person in the room gently but firmly reminded him.

"And who is your little friend, Zabuza?"  
"Ame, this is Haku. Haku this is Ringo Ameyuri, wielder of Kiba and one of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū." The swordswoman gave Haku a menacing grin which the younger woman just shrugged off and bowed. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance Ameyuri-san."  
"Likewise little lady," she replied with a low chuckle.

' _Although now that I think about it, I doubt the truth of that statement,_ ' she thought as she closely watched Haku walk around the bed, a small bowl of warm water in her hands. Ameyuri knew the manner in which women walked and Haku didn't walk in that same manner. But she couldn't rule out a well-played double bluff, so kept quiet.

"How long until he's back on his feet?"  
"I would estimate at five to six days, Ameyuri-san."  
"Well that's far too long," she immediately complained. "I can barely sit still for five to six hours so I'm gonna go wander this tedious little island in the hope I find something interesting to occupy my time. Why the little man holds such an interest in controlling this lump of rock confuses me," she said before leaving.

"Now who's complaining," Zabuza quietly said. "She seems a character, Zabuza-sama," Haku quietly noted after a few moments. "That she is," he said with a sigh. "But a warning Haku. Don't mess with her, she'll happily cut you to ribbons at the drop of a hat. She gave him a stare which he matched, by that she could tell he was being serious. "I understand, Zabuza-sama."

…

"You have questions?" the bedridden Shinobi correctly assumed. "Yes, she admitted, a little flush of embarrassment colouring her cheeks. "Well fire away then. Not like I've got five days to kill or anything."  
"You said you thought she was dead, why?"  
"When Ameyuri was young, maybe a few years younger than you, she contracted a disease of some sorts, no one could figure it out and she was only given a few years to live. Not long before I found you, she was on her deathbed. How she's still alive I've no idea but it does at least confirm what I suspected."

"And what's that, Zabuza-sama?"  
"That only one of the seven swords currently fights for Kiri, fights for _Yagura_ ," [ **1** ] he said his name with venom, "Such is the state of Kirigakure."

Haku knew bits and pieces about the seven swords but almost nothing about who currently wielded them. "Out of interest, who currently have the seven swords?  
"Kubikiribōchō (Executioner's Blade) you know all about already," he began, his eyes quickly looked at the enormous blade leaned up against the wall.

"You've just met the holder of Kiba (Fang). Ironically she might be the longest current holder of one of the seven swords.

"A kid your age called Chōjūrō wields Hiramekarei (Twinsword), he still serves in Kiri.

"When we left Kiri no one was using Kabutowari (Helmet Splitter) or Shibuki (Splash). Both have been in storage since their previous users were killed by that Konoha Genin with the stupid moustache in the last world war."

"Nuibari (Sewing Needle) while not in storage is not in use either. It's not even held by someone from Kiri, it was stolen by someone from Kiri but they got killed by a Konoha Jōnin."  
"Do you know who?" Haku asked, she'd put the bowl down and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah," he said picking up from the bedside table the Bingo book they'd managed to get a few weeks ago, it was the most recent Kiri edition. He skimmed through the pages, finding the one he wanted and handed to the booklet to Haku.

She looked down at the page, "Uzumaki Tri?" she said/ asked. "Yeah, I've been wondering whether to thank him or not for holding onto Nuibari because I imagine it annoys Yagura to no end that a foreign nin has one of the villages greatest relics."

"That makes six, what about the last one?"

He was silent a moment before answering, "Samehada (Sharkskin) is currently in the possession of Hoshigaki Kisame, he's in that book too, somewhere near the front. But you may know him by his nickname, Kirigakure no Kaijin." The slight stiffening of her shoulders suggested she had indeed heard of him as she flicked to Kisame's bingo book page.

"A bit of advice Haku, should for some reason you ever encounter Kisame, run, just run. Run and hope he doesn't have a vested interest in you being dead."

Dumbfounded surprise, that was the expression on her face, they'd talked of many dangerous Shinobi before but never had Zabuza given her such a warning. "He's that strong?"  
"Yes, perhaps even stronger. He is the only Shinobi I will not cross, period. You could team all the other current sword holders together, me, Ameyuri, Chōjūrō and this Uzumaki and Kisame would beat all four of us."

-(*)-

In the months since they'd become a team they'd never been pushed like Sakura had just pushed them. In the span of just six hours she'd managed to run them into the ground. Even Rezano, used to training with his brother Naruto was struggling for breath. The boy's two teammates looked utterly drained.

"I must say, I thought your personal training would have compensated for your lack of training from Kakashi, but it would appear not. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it because you'll be doing the exact same tomorrow," she said cheerfully like it was the best thing in the world. Three groans were her reply.

Now that she had a moment she put a hand into the pouch just above her tailbone and pulled out a small slip of folded paper. Opening it, it read, " _I need more information on Gatō, question Tazuna and Tsunami on whether he has hideouts or property on the island that he uses. Try to refrain from being blunt if possible, thanks. Raven_.'

"What' cha got there?" Meshikamaru asked noticing the piece of paper in her hand. "A few quick notes I took on what else I want to get you all doing tomorrow," she lied. The young teen thought nothing of it and didn't say anything else as they one by one re-entered their accommodation for however long this mission might last.

Each of the Genin developed a greater respect for chairs as they deposited themselves in the nearest ones available which happened to be the wooden chairs surrounding the kitchen table. "And perfectly timed," Tsunami said happily to them as she began placing large bowls of steaming hot food on the table.

It was that moment that Rezano's stomach decided to loudly inform everyone within earshot of its extreme dissatisfaction. Much to his embarrassment, it was that moment that seemingly everybody chose then to appear in the kitchen.

"I see you're no different from the rest of your family," Sakura lightly joked at the embarrassed boy's expense. Thanks to the time she'd spent with Tri she was fully aware of the families absurd ability to consume copious amounts of food in one sitting. Rezano seemed to visibly shrink in the chair as he tried to make himself disappear.

Having seen how much Rezano could eat in the day he'd been here Tsunami asked, "Do Rezano-san's family all eat like it's their last meal?"  
"Yes," was the quick reply from Sakura and Kakashi. "It's a trait of the Uzumaki clan, a stomach that has no end," Kakashi elaborated.

"Uzumaki? isn't that only half of Rezano-san's family name?" Tazuna asked as his daughter went to retrieve his grandson for dinner, he remembered the boy being introduced as 'Uzumaki Namikaze'. "Yes, Rezano is descended from the leaders of two clans, thus his extended name. His mother is the head of the Uzumaki clan, and his father of the Namikaze. In fact all three of my Genin are of major clans."

"Meshikamaru's father is the head of the Nara clan while Sasuke's mother is head of the Uchiha clan." The young Uchiha's face darkened.

"So they're clan heirs?" the elderly man asked as the members of his own family joined them at the table. "No," Kakashi said shaking his head. "Sasuke's second in line after his older brother." That got a low growl out of him which Kakashi heard but summarily ignored.

"While Rezano has two older brothers. The elder, Naruto is heir to the Namikaze clan and Tri is the heir to the Uzumaki clan. Despite their parents' marriage they didn't want to bind the two clans together for more than one generation hence the split inheritance. It leaves Rezano here as second in line to the Namikaze clan.

"And as for Meshikamaru, I don't actually know. Do you know?" he asked the girl in question. She shrugged her shoulders as she swallowed some rice, "I don't know either, I don't think Tou-san knows either, I think he's waiting to see if my brother stops being so damn lazy before naming the heir."

After that people split off to have conversations on various matters. Sakura leaned against a workstation was talking with Tazuna about the island in general, subtly pushing the conversation towards Tri's request.

Inari set his bowl back down on the table, he wasn't partaking in any of the idle conversations around the slightly cramped room. The pink-haired one was talking to his grandfather, the one with the mask chatted away with the other woman who'd arrived earlier and his mother. And two of the younger ones talked with each other, the boy with black hair didn't say anything to anyone.

His eyes narrowed as he began counting the Shinobi in the room. "Where's the other one?" he bluntly said aloud, his question specifically aimed at Sakura and Kakashi. The various conversations around the table abruptly ended as they all turned to face him.

"Inari-kun?" his mother said. "Those two, I want to know where their other friend is. I heard three voice talking earlier." The two singled out Shinobi just looked at one another in faked confusion, their poker faces going strong. Seeing he wasn't going to get an answer Inari got a little angry and jumped to his feet.

"I'm not stupid," he shouted in frustration. "Don't lie, I know there were three of you." Tsunami had a hand on his arm trying to get him to sit again but to no avail.

"Well, that's quite annoying," a garbled male voice said. Civilian and Shinobi alike jumped in surprise, Rezano and Sasuke even jumped up into defensive stances. Chairs were pushed out of the way or picked up as weapons.

"Oh put those down before you hurt yourselves," Sakura chastised, "Appears you've been rumbled, Raven."  
"So it would seem, Sakura. By of all things a child, how embarrassing," he irritably replied as a hand seal cancelled the Genjutsu hiding him from view.

Meshikamaru recognising the garb of Konoha ANBU and seeing no reaction from Sakura or Kakashi lowered her chair to the floor. Meanwhile, Tazuna had shot to his feet and was about to open his mouth and demand answers when Sakura, who was at his side in impossibly quick fashion put a firm hand on his shoulder and forced him back into his chair.

"Sit down, Raven is no threat to you or anyone else here. Raven's a member of Konoha's ANBU and has a mission of his own on the island, he was also asked to keep an eye on us just in case, hence why he's here," she explained. "What mission?" Sasuke suspiciously asked. The masked figure turned their gaze on him, "That's not for you to know."

Just on the off chance something like this happened Tri had already removed his violet sash and placed a Genjutsu over his hair and arms to hide his identity. His mask also had the ability to subtly modulate his voice to sound different to everyone else.

"How long have you been here, ANBU Raven?" Meshikamaru gingerly asked, she wasn't quite sure how one communicated with an on-mission ANBU. "No longer than you have, Nara-san."  
"And since you were hidden, I presume no one is supposed to know you're here?"  
"You presume correctly, other than Sakura and Kakashi, my being here was supposed to remain a secret," as he spoke he glared at Inari who seemed to be trying to hide behind thin air. Thankfully the boy didn't seemed to have heard Sakura call him by name, or he was too scared to say it.

' _The Nara's composure is impressive,_ ' Tri noted. She acted in a manner better befitting her more experienced peers.

"S-so, you'd help the others in keeping my father safe?" Tsunami timidly asked, the constant shocks of the past few days had begun to take a toll on her. "Only if necessary, it's not my task to complete their mission for them but if they need my aid then I will provide it." That seemed to allay her worries a little.

"It had been my intention you never know of my presence Tsunami-san to spare you the worry of another unfamiliar face, well, mask. It's pretty apparent you've had a stressful time of late." The woman looked at him in astonishment, he'd read her like a book.

Sakura pulled something out of her backpack and handed it to Tsunami, "Here, chew on this for a few minutes. It has a mild sedative," she offered and explained. She didn't know why but she didn't question her as she gratefully took the small, gnarly piece of what looked like a plant root.

Placing it in her mouth she bit down. She was expecting a seriously bitter taste and while, yes, there was a slightly bitter undertone, the taste was overwhelmingly of orange.

She sat back and let the sedative do its work, she could physically feel the tension in her shoulders and her headache fade away as she relaxed into her chair. She'd not felt this chilled out for a long time. By the time she started paying attention to her surroundings again the room had visibly calmed. The newest arrival was amicably chatting away with her father.

"How'd you feel?" Sakura asked, she was still stood by her. Tsunami gave her what might have been the most genuine smile she'd given anyone in a long time. "Really good actually," she answered taking the chewed root out of her mouth. "Whatever this is, is really, really good," she commended.

"It's called orange root, you can get it from most herbalists, apothecaries and even some flower shops. It's fairly common and not very expensive," she said handing her a small pouch bag with more root inside.

"Put plenty of puncture holes in it and you brew it with tea or just chew it. Don't swallow it though, it'll give you massive stomach cramps if you do."

Tsunami loathed accepting it. Under any other circumstances she'd procure her own supply, but right now, that just wasn't possible. She thanked her profusely.

-(*)-

"Close the blind behind you," she sharply chided him. Knowing not to argue, Naruto closed the window she'd left open for him and quickly pulled the blind down as Kurotsuchi flipped the switch on a lamp behind the room's sofa.

The room was familiar to him now, it was the same room she was put in last time. Luckily for them both, her windows didn't overlook a main street so sneaking in and out was fairly easy.

The Iwa group's first day in Konoha had been a casual, relaxed affair. A brief, hour-long meeting with the Hokage in the morning was followed by an early lunch. The afternoon they could spend as they wished.

Kurotsuchi had spent several hours with the other female members of their entourage meandering around Konoha's shopping districts. Naruto conveniently, and unfortunately in his case, was their escort.

But spending nearly half a day together already, all be it with others, hadn't discouraged either from spending some time together privately. "Did you learn that seal from your brother like I asked?"  
"I did… But I still can't really figure out why." When she'd asked him to learn it she'd neglected to tell him why.  
"Because, you dummy," she retorted with a grin, "I'd rather the others not listen in on our conversations. Or learn that they happen to begin with."  
"Oh," he conceded, it was a rather good reason.

"You want me to activate it now?"  
"Uh-huh," she nodded. He withdrew a small rolled up scroll from his pouch and spread it out across the carpeted floor. A fairly complex array design was already inked onto the otherwise untouched paper.

Naruto placed a hand over the array and allowed his chakra to flow into it. It immediately activated with a light blue glow. The previously small design began expanding in size. It soon outgrew the scroll and started spreading across the floor. When it reached the walls it started climbing them and continued across the ceiling. With a minute the seal covered the entire room.

"Is it active?" she quietly asked him. He nodded, "Yeah, that's it. So long as there is chakra to power it, it'll remain active. I've put enough in to last an hour or so."  
"You can put more in if needed?"  
"Yes."  
"And it's one way only, right? sound can enter my room but not leave it?"  
"Again, yes."  
"Excellent," she grinned.

"Now, sit," she ordered. He never got the chance to do so himself, she pushed him back into the sofa. "I'm capable of sitting down on my own Kuro-chan," he complained, giving her a non-serious scowl. "Well you were taking too long and stop with the stroppy child look. You're supposed to be a grown up," she retorted joining him on the sofa. "And you and I are long overdue a grown up conversation."

Naruto immediately tensed nervously as she leaned her elbow on the top of the sofa, her head resting on that arms hand so she could look straight at him, her legs tucked under her body.

It was hardly just Naruto with a sudden bout of nerves. Kurotsuchi had run dozens of simulations of this conversation in her head in the previous few days and now that it was here, her mind had blanked. All that time she'd spent meticulously wording questions and deciding on the order in which to ask them had been for nought.

Then again, her mentality coming into this had been; the fewer questions, the better.

Her memory abandoning her left her with a slight feeling of frustration bubbling away at the back of her mind. It was then that Tri's words of advice from months earlier echoed through her consciousness. ' _Don't be afraid to force the issue_.'

She'd put a great deal of thought into the meaning of those words. She figured out that he meant she should discard with subtly and be blunt, sometimes bluntness was the best course of action, this was such a situation. She trusted Naruto enough not to freeze up if she cut to the chase.

"Naruto-kun," she said getting his attention as he'd taken an interest in the far wall instead of her. He turned to face her and she took her chance. "I'm going to skip all the skirting around the issue and get straight to the point.

"Naruto-kun, do you have a crush on me?"

 _Jeez! That was about as subtle as a punch to the face_ ,' he mentally groaned. With a deep breath he gathered his thoughts, he absolutely could not lie or evade the question, she'd immediately pick up on it and verbally slaughter him for it. Honestly was the only acceptable cause of action and so he answered honestly.

His head dipped a little, he couldn't hold her gaze as he spoke, one word. "Yes," he said quietly, almost as if in embarrassment.

In the years to come Naruto would never quite understand why he thought it was embarrassing in any way.

Because he now wasn't looking at her he never saw her previously passive facial expression change to a massive smile.

"Good," she happily stated.

* * *

End Chapter

[ **1** ] - Yes, while we know Chōjūrō likely sides with Mei during the Kiri Civil war, Zabuza doesn't.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

* * *

 **Review Replies** :

 **Gtopia** : You may well be right, and normally little things like this I go out of the way to make sure I get correct but as it doesn't influence the story in any way I'm going to leave it as is.

 **EeveeTheImmortal** : Well, we weren't originally and we won't - in the Wave Arc. It was just a line I wrote to impress on the readers the strength of Kisame but I wanna write that fight now. It won't be until deep into Shippuden though, it's the only place it'll slot in but it'll get done.

* * *

Walking up Trees

"Good," she happily stated.

It took a few moments for that one word to fully process in his brain. When it did, however, Naruto's head shot up in a flash, his eyes immediately seeking out hers. Naruto had learnt how to pick up some of the more obvious signs when someone was lying, he saw none of them. "Wha?" he mumbled.

"I said, Naruto-kun. It was – good." She couldn't help but smirk at the look of confusion on his face, he didn't seem to fully understand. "Wh-wh."  
"Why?" she said for him, he dumbly nodded.

"Oh, Naruto-kun," she lightly tittered, shuffling closer to him, one of her legs now in contact with his. "For all your smarts, you really are a big dummy," Kurotsuchi stated before throwing a leg over him, moving to sit in his lap, her face level with his.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as his mental faculties slowed to a crawl. She leaned in, her mouth millimetres from his right ear, "Because, you dummy. Your crush – is mutual," she whispered to him.

Judging by the dumbstruck look on his face she figured words wouldn't get through right now so with a hungry grin she leaned forward and kissed him.

Naruto subconsciously recoiled ever so slightly as his brain ground to complete stop.

A second passed, two seconds and Naruto still hadn't responded. Kurotsuchi was about to break the kiss when Naruto's motor functions were returned to him. His hands, which had previously fallen limply to his sides found live once again. They quickly gripped her hips, either side of her tailbone.

With his grip on her secured, he pulled her to him, pressing her chest flush against his own as he finally returned her kiss, and with vigour.

It would be nearly twenty seconds later that their lips would finally separate, their brains screaming for oxygen. Their foreheads dipped together, the tips of their noses lightly caressing the other as they looked deeply into each other's eyes. "Please say – that that felt as good for you as it did for me?" Naruto was able to ask after finding his voice.

She slowly nodded, a massive grin on her face. "Umm… Wanna do it again?" he hesitantly asked. "Oh yeah," she grinned before slamming her lips into his.

Now that his brain was functional again he could began processing all the sensations he was currently experiencing.

If he were to say he hadn't envisioned what kissing her might be like – then he'd be lying. And now that he was experiencing it, it was better than he could ever have imagined.

The warmth of her body against his. His hands around her waist as hers ran through his hair. The light caress of her chin-length hair against his face. This was what he was missing from his life, and he hadn't even known he was missing it to begin with.

They parted a second time. "I never knew just how much I wanted this," he admitted. "Neither did I," she replied.

"So… What now?"  
"What do you mean?" she asked twisting a lock of his hair in her fingers. "Well, what I mean is. What does this mean for us?" he elaborated, his hand running up and down her spine. "What do you want it to mean?" she calmly asked, "Do you want this to just be a de-stressor or…"  
"No, absolutely not. I want so much more than that." That was all she needed to hear but she let him continue.

"I guess – what I'm trying to say is. Will you be my girlfriend?" By this point her face was tucked into the crook of his neck so yet again he missed her lips widen into a huge smile. "Now you're asking the right questions," she again whispered into his ear before leaning back. "But as for an answer. I mean, I'll have to think about it…" She watched him like a hawk, she couldn't help herself, she had to take the opportunity to tease him. As soon as his head began to drop she swooped in and quickly pecked him on the lips.

"Yes," she said pulling back. "Yes?" he repeated in confusion. "Yes," she confirmed for him and his face lit up in delight. He gave her a strong hug before they went back to the snogging for a few minutes.

"See, asking me out wasn't so hard now was it?"  
"For you maybe, I can't remember the last time I was so nervous."  
"Oh don't complain. I said yes didn't I." The happiness on his face was so sincere, she thought it adorable.

"You did. Thank yo…"  
"Naruto-kun," she interrupted him," Shut up," she smirked as they began round three.

By the time round four came to an end, Naruto had ended up on his back on the sofa, the very attractive Kurotsuchi laid out on top of him.

She sat up straight, her hands gently placed on his chest as she looked down at him, the tips of Naruto's fingers gently trailing up and down the exposed skin of her calf. His other hand was soon interlaced with one of hers.

"How long have you had this crush on me for?" she asked him. She was of the opinion that they'd wasted a lot of time skirting around one another, she wanted to get a gauge on just how much time. "Honestly, I not exactly sure, it might be that I've always had a thing for you. I do know, however, that I've always be mesmerized by your eyes."

"R-really?" she asked in a strangely nervous tone. Unbeknownst to Naruto was that when she was young she'd been on the receiving end of some nasty comments regarding her pink eyes. "Yes, I think they're beautiful," he said without hesitation, it was a comment that earned him one fierce kiss in reward.

"I don't suppose you left a shadow clone out in the village," she inquired of him after she'd finished giving him his reward. "I did, it'd be harder to claim I was here if I'm spotted in the village at the same time."  
"Good. Now go put more chakra in that seal of yours because now that I've got my hands on you I'm not letting you go for a while. And we have a lot – and I mean a lot of making out to catch up on," she said enthusiastically.

"Oh no, however will I manage?" Naruto said sarcastically as he grabbed a hold of her and spun them both around so she was underneath him. "Naruto-kun, the seal.."  
"I can do that in a minute," he said as he leaned down thus beginning round four.

-(*)-

 **The Following Morning**

"Good morning, Sakura," she heard behind her, turning her head she saw Raven casually wander into the clearing, "Morning," she replied with a smile before turning her head back to Kakashi's Genin. They were currently going through their warm-up routines, a few squats, press ups, stretches and even a few pull-ups courtesy of a low-hanging branch.

"What can I do for you, Raven?" she asked as he stopped next to her. "I'm bored, Sakura. With my shadow clones out searching under every rock and behind every tree I find myself with surprisingly little to do while I wait. So I decided to see what it was you put these three through yesterday."

"Fair enough. Yesterday was just physical work. Today I intend to start them on tree-climbing."  
"They haven't been introduced to tree-climbing?" he asked in disbelief, a cringe on his face. Although the mask and his neutral tone of voice hid any emotional reaction.

"Remarkable isn't it," she said irritably, shaking her head. "Fancy helping me?" The ANBU shrugged his shoulders, "As I said, I've nothing to do, so why not."  
"Alright then," she said taking a few steps forward, "Ok, that's enough warming up."

When the three Genin turned their attention to her, she addressed them. "Today, I'm going to introduce you to a well-known but rudimentary chakra control exercise that you should, frankly, already know. Today, you're gonna learn tree climbing."

"Huh?" Rezano exclaimed, "But I can already climb trees." Before Sakura could even get a word in he was attempting to scuttle up a tree with his hands and feet. Sakura sighed and face-palmed while she awaited the inevitable, which came just a few seconds later as Rezano slipped and landed on his backside.

It was while the teen was feeling sorry for himself that Meshikamaru clipped him around the back of the head, "Not like that, Baka. She means tree climbing using chakra," she bluntly explained. "Then why didn't she just say that," he argued back. "I would have if you'd given me chance!" Sakura shouted, silencing him instantly.

"Now that you're paying attention again. Raven, if you'd be so kind." With a curt nod the masked Shinobi approached a nearby tree. Planting one foot on the bark, it stuck firmly as he lifted his other foot and then proceeded to walk vertically up the tree and out onto a large branch which he hung upside down from.

"That's awesome!" Rezano chirped as Raven released his grip, rotated in mid-air and landed on his feet. "It's also something you should already know as I said," Sakura reiterated.

"Did he use his chakra to 'stick' to the tree?" Meshikamaru asked having watched Raven closely. "Correct, by using your chakra you can make your grip on something near absolute, sort of like a temporary glue. The trick is using the right amount of chakra. Too much and you'll crush the bark underfoot. Too little and you'll make like Rezano and soon find yourself on the ground with your pride and skin bruised."

Sakura knew she had the girls fullest attention, but she wasn't so sure of her teammates. Rezano was focusing more on Raven whilst Sasuke was too busy staring off into the distance, looking utterly disinterested, or at least trying to.

"How do we get started?" the teenage girl eagerly asked. "It's mostly down to properly focusing your chakra. You need to manipulate it outside of your body which requires a certain level of control over your chakra. You can take your sandals off to reduce the difficulty since you don't have to push your chakra quite so far to encompass the sole of the sandal." The Nara nodded her understanding and slipped off her dark grey footwear.

Meshikamaru took a deep breath to centre herself. Manipulating her chakra outside of her body was a task familiar to her – sort of. After all, her family Jutsu involved manipulating her own shadow. But her chakra was in a sense still contained within something, her shadow in this case. But now her chakra would be outside her body entirely.

She coaxed chakra down her legs, some was lost in transit but most made it to her feet.

When she felt ready she tried lifting her foot, while she was able to do so it required far more effort than normal. ' _Too little chakra?_ ' she assumed, she wanted to use just enough chakra to hold her foot to the ground to get a feel for how much would be needed for the tree.

Her second attempt saw her use too much chakra, the grass and dirt underfoot suddenly compressed with a deep sounding thump. Lifting her foot and looking down she could see a perfect imprint of said foot. "That's actually kinda cool," she said looking at the sunken footprint. "Sakura-san, is it possible to weaponize chakra like this?" Her inherent curiosity surfacing.

"It is. There are those who already do, Tsunade-sama is perhaps the greatest example. Raven, do you by chance know any of Tsunade-sama's chakra based Taijutsu?"  
"Uh, technically no, I don't. But, I do know how to utilize chakra in the same manner," he answered approaching one of the smaller trees in the clearing.

Cocking back his fist, Raven channelled a hefty amount of chakra into his fist and forearm and let fly, dispensing the chakra the moment his fist made contact with the wooden flora. The results were impressive as his fist smashed straight through, taking a chunk out of the trunk, a shower of wood shavings scattered through the air.

"Why aren't you teaching us that! Sasuke demanded to know, "Unlike walking up and down a tree it's actually useful!"  
"Because you lack the chakra control to safely do so," Sakura sharply retorted. "Nonsense! My control is more than good enough."  
"Well if you're sure then go ahead, the theory is actually quite simple but keep in mind that if you do it wrong you'll literally blow your hand off," Sakura coldly enlightened him. Sasuke froze when he heard 'blow your hand off'.

"You're lying."  
"She's really not," Raven said weighing in. "Release the chakra at the wrong moment and you'll lose a limb. The released chakra has nowhere to go but through bone and flesh."  
"Release too early and you'll lose your hand. Too late and you'll break your hand on whatever your hitting," Sakura elaborated.

Sasuke was arrogant, but even he wasn't arrogant enough to risk his hand. With a *Hmph* he looked the other way and didn't say another word.

Meanwhile Meshikamaru had shut out her black haired teammates complaints and was trying to figure a way of garnering experience of tree climbing that didn't involve her immediately falling off the tree.

"What're you thinking?" Raven asked her having noticed an expression that denoted deep thought. She briefly explained her dilemma to him, "And how do you intend to do so?" He had no intention of giving her any clues, he wanted to see her figure it out for herself.

She started by hopping on the spot, alternating between feet, slowly she increased the chakra levels until a foot refused to leave the ground. Now she knew roughly how much chakra was needed to adhere her foot to something. She approached the nearest tree placed a foot against the smooth-barked trunk, applied her chakra and kicked off the ground with her other foot.

Her foot on the tree slipped immediately.

"Hmm. That didn't work, how come?" she quietly pondered to herself. "Gravity?" she wondered but shook her head, "No, I took that into account already," she said dismissing it. "But AH!," she cried in realisation. "I never took my own bodyweight into account," she both said and asked Raven. He didn't physically react, only neutrally saying, "Then take it into account."

It passed unnoticed by her, but she by now had everyone in the clearings attention, even Sasuke had cast his eyes over in her direction. She attempted it several more times before she finally found the correct amount.

Next was getting both her feet on the tree simultaneously. She had tried already but couldn't maintain her balance while doing so. Her muscles weren't strong enough to overcome gravity's attempts to pull her body back towards the ground.

That's when the idea of running at the tree came to her. She reckoned her forward momentum would counter the pull of gravity. Backing up ten paces she gave it a go. She made it three steps because losing her concentration, her chakra control slipping. She jumped off the tree, and after a graceful backflip landed safely on her feet.

"Very nicely done, Meshikamaru," Sakura commended before handing her a kunai, "Use this to mark your progress on the bark."  
"Seems you've done all the thinking for your teammates as well," Raven noted. That was then Meshikamaru noticed her teammates watching her. Sakura threw a kunai at each of their feet, "You only learn so much by watching. Get climbing," she ordered.

It took nearly the entire morning for either Sasuke or Rezano to match their teammates three steps. And by the time they broke for lunch Meshikamaru had gotten to six steps.

Following lunch they continued, Sakura occasionally provided small pieces of advice while Raven asked them a question if they asked him one, the aim of which was to subtly point them towards finding the answer themselves.

Throughout the early afternoon Rezano's frustration kept building as he still couldn't get a successful fourth step. After his latest failed attempt his frustration got the better of him, "Damn it!" he shouted, "Why won't it work?!"  
"Calm down," Raven bluntly said, which only served to annoy Rezano further. "Why? How is calming down going to help me?!"

That's when Meshikamaru smacked him around the head with her hand – again, "He's just told you how, calm down! Emotion inhibits your ability to control your chakra in a consistent manner, Baka."

Knowing better than to argue with his Genin counterpart he did as she'd said. Sitting on the ground he assumed a position his brother Naruto had taught him that worked to help him find mental peace. A few silent minutes later he stood again, focused himself and ran at his tree, kunai in hand. He immediately made the fourth step and a fifth before his concentration lapsed.

He looked around rather awkwardly after landing back on the ground, everyone else stared back. "Huh, guess it does work," he said sheepishly.

By the time they called it quits for the day, Sasuke and Rezano had managed to reach a half dozen steps each while Meshikamaru, with her sandals put back on, had almost reached the top of the tree. The young Nara was enthusiastically chatting with Raven as they returned to the house.

"I know you've not finished the tree climbing exercise but you clearly understand it fully so I want to move you onto the second stage of this exercise tomorrow. I expect you to master tree climbing in your own time."  
"Second stage?"  
"Correct, tree climbing is the first of three stages for bettering your chakra control. The second is water-walking with the third being a more advanced version of that called water-skidding or water-skiing.

"Overall the three exercises teach you various ways of manipulating your chakra first consciously with the aim of eventually achieving it sub-consciously. Holding chakra outside your body, modulating your chakra output and finally shaping your chakra are the aims respectively."

Their conversation continued until they reached the house. A recovering Kakashi and Kusuri had spent the day accompanying Tazuna to and from the bridge. Raven didn't stay in the household however, he decided instead to eat outside as eating required removing his mask – Sakura chose to join him.

They settled at a large wide-trunked tree overlooking the calm coastal waters of the eastern ocean. They chose to sit between two large smooth exposed tree roots which made for a comfortable yet cosy fit for them both.

"Kami, I'm glad to get this off for a while," Tri said in relief as he removed his black raven mask. Sakura looked at the mask in his hand curiously, "Could I take a look at your mask?" she politely asked.

"Sure," he replied handing it to her, "It won't fit very well if you try it on, they're custom made to fit the face of a specific ANBU."

She held it up to her face and sure enough it didn't fit very well. "It's lighter than I thought it would be," she noted, "And it actually is made from porcelain," she added in mild surprise. Tri raised an eyebrow at her, "What did you think they were made from?"  
"Well I thought it would be made of metal or wood."  
"Years ago they were, but metal is too heavy and wood is prone to warping which led to the need to constantly replace them. So they changed them all to porcelain."

She poked the inner lining to find it completely dry, "Does the inside not get sweaty or really warm?"  
"Surprisingly and thankfully no, over the years they've found a few neat tricks for transferring heat from the inside."  
"How does it stay on your face?"  
"The same way the Genin stayed on the trees, chakra. You can't see it but there's a Fūinjutsu design placed on the inner lining. Just putting the mask on triggers the seal, it draws a tiny amount of chakra from the wearer and with it keeps the mask attached to the face."

"I see. I take it the eye slits are covered because of your unique eye colours?"  
"Yes. They used some fancy material that only allow certain colours through in one direction, so I can get the full-colour spectrum but you only see black on the other side."  
"You are rather unique – visually, I mean" she acknowledged, "Your hair and Fūinjutsu covered arms are easily recognisable as you."  
"Thus why I use a Genjutsu to hide both."

She returned his mask to him and picked up the food she'd brought with her. While not bad food by any stretch, it was rather bland fare. "What I'd do for some Sushi right now," she bemoaned after a few bites. With a wry smile on his face, Tri upturned one of his hands, in which a folded napkin appeared. He extended his hand out to her, she unfolded the napkin and within were half a dozen pieces of simple Sushi.

"How did you… When?"  
"I normally work alone when on ANBU missions so I bring food with me, I plan ahead too. I must have like two months of food on me right now."  
"Wait, how long have you had this Sushi on you?" He shrugged his shoulders, "Two, three months maybe."  
"And it doesn't spoil?"  
"Nope, we did some testing on it, inside storage seals there is no concept of time. I watched this Sushi get made months ago yet because it's been in the seal, it's not even five minutes old."

Not entirely believing him her first bite was a tentative one. But her caution was unwarranted, it tasted fresh, just as he said it would. "Sakura-chan, slow down, I'm not going to take them off you," he laughed as they rapidly began vanishing. "Shhuut uup," she whined as she chewed the final piece.

After returning to and finishing the food she'd brought with her she leaned back, her shoulder blade leaning against the front of his shoulder. "Still hungry?" he asked seeing the slight look of dissatisfaction on her face. Turning her head to look at him she sheepishly nodded. Another withdrawal and a few minutes later her stomach was finally sated.

"I suppose you'll want a nap now too."  
"Well you do make for a comfy pillow," she joked.

"It's gonna be kinda difficult to nap when I'm cold though," she said as another sharp breeze blew over them. "You are cold," he observed in astonishment as she briefly shivered next to him. "What, you aren't?" she replied, he shook his head which miffed her, "Lucky," she muttered.

"Well I think I can help with that," he said wrapping his arms around her waist locking his hands together over her abdomen. Pulling on his chakra, he moulded a small amount into Katon and Fūton and then combined them into Shakuton. He circulated the potent chakra around his chakra network.

A few seconds later she noticed. "Wow, wait, what did you do?" she asked in shock, she'd felt the temperature in his arms suddenly increase.

"I'm letting a small amount of Shakuton circulate around my body," he answered. The medic in her dictated her response, "Wait, I've seen your Shakuton Jutsu, it's stupidly unstable and you're letting it modify your internal body temperature!?"  
"Yeah, pretty much. I do keep it away from my head and internal organs though. By heating only my arms and legs my body no longer needs to circulate warm blood to my extremities. I haven't felt cold in years."

"Why not use Katon? It's far safer, surely?"  
"Technically, yes. But I'd have to use far more to get the same heat increase. Besides it's a good chakra control exercise, I can do it subconsciously now." She was quiet as she thought, "Do you mind if I tell Tsunade-sama about this. I think it's something that requires further investigation."  
"Sure, guess you'll be needing me as a Guinea pig as well?"  
"Yeah, probably," she snorted as another breeze reached them, again she shivered a little.

Seeking to rectify that he next withdrew a thick woolly blanket which he threw over them both. "Oh for Kami's sake. Is there anything you don't have in those seals of yours?" she asked as it was quickly tucked under limbs.

"Well, if I don't, it's because I've not had a need for it yet."  
"A sound strategy. And I'm glad for it, it's turned my evening into a rather pleasant one. Turns out you're a menu, a waiter, a pillow and a hot water bottle," she joked before closing her eyes.

He looked off out across the endless waves as the last glimmers of light faded beyond the horizon when Sakura shuffled around for a few seconds. It ended with her on her side leaning into him, his right arm around her shoulders, his left still around her waist.

' _I wonder if there's anything out there across the water? Or does the ocean loop back around the entire world to the far west of the continent?_ '

Within ten minutes he could hear slow, shallow breathing from the young woman next to him. ' _Well, that didn't take you long,_ ' he thought in amusement. He was rather surprised she didn't react when he'd put his arms around her. He was expecting her to stiffen or flinch a little but nothing. ' _Means I get to sleep against a tree with a pretty view and a pretty girl,_ ' he chuckled.

A few minutes later he fell asleep as well, his head dropping to rest on hers.

It meant neither of them saw or heard Rezano storm out of the house and run off into the woods in an almighty mood a short while later.

-(*)-

 **Back in Konoha**

Kurotsuchi shoved Naruto against the edge of the bed, he didn't fall back so she pushed him a second time, still he didn't go down. So she jumped at him, that did the job as they both collapsed on the bed in a heap of limbs and fits of giggles. She'd at least been kind enough to make sure his head landed on a pillow.

"Gah, calm down woman. Wasn't three hours of making out enough for you last night?"  
"Nope," she said with a smile of smug satisfaction before softly nipping his earlobe with her teeth.. "Why, bored of me already, Naruto-kun?"  
"Not a chance," he beamed as she rested her chin on his chest.

As previously mentioned, it was three hours before she'd let him leave last night, it had taken another hour of walked around the village before he thought himself able to go home. His family would have questioned why he had such an absurdly large grin on his face.

Plus she'd only released him on the promise that he returned tonight.

"What was up with your father today. He seemed… Distracted – I guess? He certainly wasn't all there."  
"Yeah I noticed too. From what I could gather, since when I asked he was sorta evasive, was that it's something to do with Itachi. I asked someone I know from ANBU afterwards, apparently he's several days overdue but I don't know what or where his mission is because it's been classified."  
"How long's he been gone?"  
"Several weeks by my count. But Tou-san's nervous, and that's rare. So this mission, whatever it is, must be damn important."  
"Has Itachi ever been known to miss a deadline?" Naruto shook his head, "No, not like this. He'd only be delayed for good reason."  
"I'm sure he'll turn up before long," she said reassuringly as she wriggled a little further up the bed. "I hope so," he sighed, kissing her on the forehead.

-(*)-

 **Somewhere far to the north, outside of Hi no Kuni**

"Weasel," Owl hissed sharply in alarm. "Why the fuck are we still here, we're risking the entire mission by overstaying our welcome. We're already days overdue."

The other three members of Team Ro had been growing increasingly anxious. They'd been tasked with searching and surveying Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Paddies) for Konoha's most wanted missing-nin. Recent intelligence reports from Jiraiya's network had picked up a trail that led north to Ta no Kuni. So here Team Ro were.

Despite only being here a few weeks they'd found several substantial underground installations with tunnel networks that for some stretched for kilometres. Some were abandoned and looked like they had been for some time. Others, however, were not.

It was in and around the busiest complex they'd come across that Team Ro had spent the past ten days. Watching the comings and goings, there were a rather large number of people arriving and departing from the underground complex, many of whom they could recognise as Shinobi or had at least received Shinobi training.

They'd not entered the facility, they'd all agreed it was too risky.

Itachi, also, was not oblivious to his Team's growing sense of anxiety. Reconnaissance missions were always tense affairs, it's why Konoha ANBU had specialist teams for such missions, Team RO wasn't one of them, yet the Yondaime had felt the need to entrust his personal squad with the mission. The risk of capture or death was high and the longer they stayed, the greater their chance of being discovered was.

"Alright Owl, you're right. We're pushing our luck now. Pack it up, we're leaving," Weasel instructed his team. Despite the masks they wore, the relief was evidently palpable.

Within minutes there was no evidence of their prior presence as they departed south as fast as they dared, eager to get the hell out of Ta no Kuni.

* * *

End Chapter


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

* * *

Last build chapter today. The violence gets underway next time in Chap: 42, it may take me two weeks to do the next chapter since there are so many individual fight scenes happening simultaneously.

Also in milestones, 300 Favourites, damn. Thank you all.

* * *

Calm waters before the storm

"Come on Tri, wake up."  
"Go away," he sleepily mumbled tightening his hold on her as a child might for a teddy bear. "Tri, it's morning and time to get up, so let go already." He complained a little longer before Sakura delivered him an ultimatum. "Tri, let go or I'm gonna punch you in the kidneys."  
"Aw. You're no fun," he whined, releasing her.

She cast her half of the blanket over his head, "Quit complaining already you big baby," she laughed.

"Oh, it actually is morning," he realised as he hurriedly removed the blanket blocking his vision. "Guess our nap became a bit more than just a nap."  
"Well, I did say you made for a good pillow."  
"In that case then I'll have to make myself available to you for pillow duties more often then," he chuckled. His laughter was quickly cut off as he winced in pain.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked spinning on the spot to see a hand holding the right side of his neck. He grimaced as he rubbed it, "I guess I rested my head on yours at an angle after falling asleep. It's gone stiff now."  
"Move your hand," she ordered kneeling down. A hand of her own replaced it and quickly began to glow green. Tri could feel the tightness in the tendons and muscles loosen. Within a minute he once more had full mobility in his neck.

"That's perfect, thank you," he said with a satisfied grunt as he rolled his neck to the soundtrack of quiet clicks and cracks. "You're welcome," she replied picking up his mask from the ground and offering it to him. He took one look at it and his face dropped, the smile quickly fading.

"You don't like wearing it, do you?" He slowly shook his head, "No," he answered despondently. "Then why not ask your father to take you off the roster for a while. You can't be expected to perform to your best if you're unhappy, surely?"  
"Because when I joined ANBU, it was in the understanding I wouldn't solely work ANBU missions, Yet that is exactly what has happened.

"My missions always have the same objectives, I'm away for weeks on end and upon returned am quickly shipped out on another. I feel like I lose another small piece of myself whenever I complete a mission in this outfit. Besides I've already raised this with the Hokage – nothing's changed." Sakura could hear the bitterness in that last sentence.

If it had been any other, Sakura would have simply dismissed such words as a mixture of sheer frustration and being overworked. And although both were true, she took a greater notice because Tri rarely ever opened up like this, especially of his own accord, he'd normally bottle it up and vent away from others.

She could sympathise to an extent, she'd been away on multi-week missions before, she disliked being away from her family for such extended periods of time too. Thankfully such missions were a rarity for her, not so for the young man in front of her it seemed.

Her attention slipped as she was distracted by her own thoughts so she only caught the last few words, "…missions in a row." Again his voice had a bitter tone to it as he took his mask from her hand. With a resigned sigh he placed it over his face, the small piece of Fūinjutsu ensuring it stayed put. His dejected expression now covered by the expressionless black painted porcelain.

He stood and began folding the blanket when Sakura gave him a strong, supportive hug from behind, "I'll see you back at the house," she said before departing. "Ok," was all he said, the neutral tone already back in place.

He stood stock still as he stared out at the endless sea, the water stretching beyond the horizon and he didn't move for several minutes as he considered the conversation he'd just had. Sakura knew otherwise, but most considered him emotionless, devoid of pity and resistant to the mental strain that came from serving in ANBU; In a sense, the perfect little Ninja.

And what hung over him most of all? That those people were becoming increasingly correct. Every time he took a life now, he felt as if he lost a piece of his humanity in payment, what an appropriate form of currency.

Eventually he headed to the house to see everyone crowded into the kitchen once more. He noticed Sakura had quickly changed, the hair around framing her face was damp in places, the light pink taking on a darker hue.

Most were chatting away with another, other than Sasuke that was, Sasuke never talked to anyone. That's when he noticed not quite everyone was present.

"Where's Rezano?" he asked the assembled crowd in the room. The conversations died out as Kakashi answered, "He and Inari-san had a falling out last night so he left to cool off, we haven't seen him since," the Jōnin answered as if there no problem with what he'd just said.

With a thunderous look on his hidden face a group of clones poofed into existence around Raven startling the civilians amongst them, "Find him," he ordered. A stream of clones rushed out of the back door and off into the forest beyond.

"W-what were those?" Tazuna nervously asked. "Shadow clones," was the blunt answer, Raven was utterly indifferent to the fact that the man had no idea what a shadow clone was. "Hatake, outside now," he barked.

 **With a shadow clone**

Oh boy, the boss was pissed. The clone knew why of course, he had access to the bosses memories.

First and foremost, Rezano was a Jinchuriki. While Raven certainly didn't subscribe the bigoted 'demon' bullshit, it was undeniable that Rezano had the potential to become an immensely powerful Shinobi because of the tenant sealed within him.

But in the years before he was able to fully tap into that potential, he was vulnerable, he was a target. The number of attempts made to either kill or kidnap a villages undeveloped Jinchuriki were beyond counting. And for Kakashi to have simply left him unguarded was a woeful dereliction of duty.

But there was another reason, something known only to a select few in Konoha. Talk of a new group, a small, shadowy collection of individuals who for the past few months had been hoovering up every scrap of information they could get their hands on concerning the current whereabouts and identities of the world's Jinchuriki.

Most of the resources of Raven's information network, that wasn't been poured into expending the network, was being sunk into finding out whatever he could about them. So far his efforts had been met with frustration, he didn't have the names of any members, locations. In fact he'd only learnt two things. Their calling card, Black cloaks with Red clouds and their name. Akatsuki.

The clones spread out into a wide line to cover more ground as they continued through the trees when this one came across a small quasi-clearing, the trees were sparser and there was more wild grass. The grass, however, had been long but had very recently been cut by something sharp and the bark of numerous thin trunked trees was lacerated with countless gashes of varying depth. The clone heard voices, two to be precise.

Coming to stop, the clone hid as best as possible and listened in on what seemed like a conversation. One of the voices was distinctly Rezano's, the other, however, was a mystery. Nor did it recognise them when it was able to visually locate them.

They wore a feminine Yukata, light pink with red trim. Their facial features were very feminine, framed by long black hair. The clone guessed they were perhaps two, three years older than Rezano was.

It was the age difference that initially raised the clones suspicions. The Yukata was similar to design to Tsunade-sama's, it was very open at the front, even from the clones awkward angle it could see the inside half of their collar bones.

But what didn't fit was the total lack of feminine development all girls went through during puberty. The Yukata was low cut enough to show they didn't have wrapping around their chest as most Kunoichi had. And the clone was in no doubt they were a Shinobi or had at the very least received Shinobi training. The assuredness of their movements gave that away.

The clone seemed to have missed most of the conversation because they parted ways shortly after, an agreement to meet either tomorrow or the day after was agreed between them.

With the bosses suspicious nature ingrained into the clones too, this particular one wished to follow the cross-dressing stranger. But it also needed to see Rezano back to the house so it cloned itself, Raven always gave them enough chakra to accomplish this as strange a concept as clones creating more clones might seem. It meant they could re-create themselves before dispelling so the boss could be kept up to date whilst they maintaining their watch.

The clone took action, it duplicated itself and without a word the newly created clone went after Rezano, while this one followed the stranger. They'd split with nothing more than a silent nod.

Rezano's morning had been a strange one. After last night's falling out with the whiney kid he'd stormed off into the forest until he'd found this clearing. He'd spent hours letting out all his frustration before falling to the ground exhausted and falling asleep.

When he'd awoken the following morning he had been greeted by a mysterious girl, a wicker basket in hand. She'd told him she was looking for healing herbs for her ill friend, apparently they were rather common on the forest floor. Despite his training-induced early suspicions he quickly lowered his guard around Haku as he found out shortly before she left. She seemed no different to any other islander, it didn't occur to him he hadn't even met half a dozen.

He walked in the direction he thought would lead him back to the house when the ANBU Raven dropped down in front of him. "There you are," he said, "Where have you been?"

Rezano's initial impressions were one of extreme apprehension around the ANBU. He just couldn't bring himself to trust him, despite his being a member of Konoha's most capable Shinobi institution.

"I couldn't take any more of that kids whining and complaining about everything last night so I came out here and blew off some steam. I kinda just, uh – fell asleep, I guess," he said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head nervously. "I see. Well come on, you'll have the others waiting on you if you're any longer."

Meanwhile, the other clone was following after Rezano's new friend. It didn't seek to take any aggressive actions, it would instead just follow. Raven's visual prowess to an extent transferred to his clones, they retained the heightened visual perception granted by the Sharingan so keeping them in sight was a fairly simple task.

Haku meandered through the trees for nearly half an hour, his unknown follower behind him, before arriving before a small wooden structure. To the clone it had the appearance of a woodcutters cabin, albeit one that had seemingly been abandoned for some time. Although right now it wasn't as his target entered, shutting the door behind them.

The structure was constructed of wooden planks and rectangular in shape. On one side was a stone chimney while the back wall doubled as one of the walls of a roofed storage space for logs. Three windows were spaced across the walls that remained, two facing the front either side of the only door, although one of them was boarded up. The third was on the side of the building.

It was through this side window that the clone could peer inside. The lighting of candles within improving visibility.

That's when the clone spotted Momochi Zabuza sat on the edge of what it presumed was a bed. ' _So this is where you've been hiding._ ' It had half a mind to dispel right now but decided against it, instead it would scope Zabuza and his little friend out. From the looks of things the boss could come and deal with Zabuza right now but as earlier, the clone had access to the bosses memories and from those he knew the boss would prefer Zabuza remain alive.

For now, the clone would watch.

-(*)-

Raven sifted through the memories provided by the clone who'd escorted Rezano back. Its memories informed him of this stranger but he'd have to wait for the other clone to dispel before he could find out more.

After Rezano had quickly shovelled breakfast into his stomach he and Sasuke headed into the treeline to spend another day running up and down trees under the supervision of Sakura. Meanwhile, their more accomplished tree climbing teammate would learn how to walk on water with Raven.

"Alright then, first things first. You're going to want to wear as few clothes as you're comfortable with, you're going to be doing far more swimming than walking." Usually young Kunoichi would take great offence at such a comment and start hurling around the 'pervert' slurs but unlike them, Meshikamaru could be counted on to engage her brain before speaking.

"So I take it I'll be falling in a lot then?"  
"Indeed."

"Ok then. Explain water walking to me," she asked once again removing her sandals. "I won't explain it to you per say, at least not fully. You're smart enough to figure it out so I'll be vague and stick to giving you hints. Take into account how the surfaces of both trees and water differ and you should understand how you need to approach this."

He'd actually given her the clue she needed yesterday, now he'd wait to see if she remembered it.

With her sandals now set aside she removed some loose items of clothing leaving the tighter fitting ones worn underneath. "What's better? Starting at the shore and dealing with the waves or jumping off the end of the pier?"

"A question few have the forethought to ask," he laughed, "Many assume it no different from walking up a tree and so they throw themselves off the pier with predictable results – humorous, but predictable. I would recommend the end of the pier, however, the waters calmer out there but don't throw yourself off, it won't work."

' _Wow, that sounded like actual advice,_ ' she thought before nodding. The pier itself while a bit narrow was robust in design, thick support columns were lashed together with thick and well-maintained rope. A wooden walkway nailed on top. It extended about thirty feet out over the water which was calm today thanks to the minimal breeze, the sun was out to, all in all it was a rather pleasant day.

"Don't suppose you fancy giving me a demonstration?" she asked the ANBU who'd followed her up the pier.

"Sure," he replied before simply stepping off the end. The soundscape of waves lapping against the shore was decidedly lacking a large splash. The beautiful scenery was devoid of a spray of water. All Meshikamaru noticed was what sounded like a wet slap as Raven's sandals hit the water's surface. He walked around for about ten seconds, even doing a backflip, his body rising and falling as waves passed under him before he jumped back onto the pier.

Just as she had for the tree climbing, she watched very closely, her mind analysing everything it could discern from those ten seconds.

After thanking him, they both sat cross-legged, she went over everything she's heard and seen while he began meditating. Meshikamaru spent a few minutes like this before standing again.

She squatted down at the edge, grabbed hold of the wooden plank and hung from it. It was just the right height for her to dangle her feet on the water without going through it. She knew she wouldn't have long since she didn't possess great upper body strength.

Quickly sending chakra to her feet she placed them one at a time on the water's surface. It held for a fraction of a second before dropping through. She was able to try for a second time before she had to let go, again it held for a moment.

Her mind was already working as she resurfaced. Since the water was relatively warm, instead of getting out she relaxed and let her body float on top of the water. As she looked up at the sparsely clouded sky she was frustrated to find she didn't learn very much. The time-frame was simply too short to discern anything meaningful from it.

Raven made mention of clues but going back over what's he'd said not a few minutes earlier she again couldn't get much from them. She'd already figured out what he meant by surface differences between a tree and water; a tree's surface was firm, unchanging while water was in constant motion. But she couldn't figure out why it mattered.

That's when she remembered he'd spoken briefly about water-walking yesterday. She cast her mind back to the previous evening, trying to remember what he'd said. The only word that jumped out at her was 'modulate'.

' _Hmm, Modulate. Does he mean modulate my chakra? Wait, that does make sense. A tree's surface is unchanging so the chakra levels wouldn't need changing either. But since water's surface tension is far smaller and is in constant motion I need to constantly alter the flow of chakra to compensate._ '

She lifted her hand, previously floating in the water, to her face. She clenched her fist several times before giving it a try. She drew chakra to the hand and held it just above the water. When ready she laid it on the surface, just like her feet it passed through after holding for a moment.

She tried again, only now she experimented with alternating levels of chakra. As a wave approached she tried increasing and decreasing the levels to see what happened. After a few minutes she found something resembling consistency. As a wave passed under her hand she found decreasing the chakra levels increased the time her hand stayed on the surface.

Subsequently increasing it again as the wave passed her also allowed her hand to float a little longer.

She spent the next hour just floating there practising with one hand, then the other, then both together. By the hour's end she could hold her right hand, her primary hand on the water's surface for some fifteen/ twenty seconds. She now felt she was ready to try standing again.

She swam to the shore, shook herself off, squeezing the excess water from her hair. She walked back up the pier past the unmoved Raven, she couldn't really tell if he was paying attention to her, which he was. He was silently impressed that she'd so quickly realised that you could practise whilst in the water.

The rest of the morning until lunch, she spent holding onto the pier's edge. After lunch she felt confident enough to let go. She took her first two tentative steps out onto the water when a slightly larger than normal wave passed under her, her concentration broke and she plunged in.

 **Two days later**

Meshikamaru resurfaced with a little groan of annoyance. It had been going so well, she'd almost reached a minute when she, almost without warning went through. "Alright Meshikamaru, that's enough for today," Raven called out to her.

She looked around to see the sun was in the early stages of setting so she swam back to the pier. At least the ANBU hadn't been throwing stones at the water around her to disturb it today. The first time he did that gave her an almighty fright and she'd resurface coughing up water and hurling insults.

She grabbed his extended hand and he pulled her out before offering her a towel. She'd already tried pulling him in when he'd first offered to pull her out when they finished yesterday. Instead of him falling in though, he'd pulled her out and thrown her clean over the pier to land in the water again on the other side – she never tried again.

"How'd today go then?" he asked. "I feel like I've gotten the application of it down. I just need practice now. I'm not exactly sure of my best time, however."  
"Two minutes eleven," he told her. "Wait, what? But I only counted a minute ten at best."  
"And you were too busy concentrating to keep time properly." Her smile told him the obvious, she was very happy to hear that.

And that ended three entire days of Meshikamaru learning to walk on water. Neither of her teammates had yet joined her. Sakura felt neither were accomplished enough to do so, much to each teens chagrin.

"Do you know if we'll be doing this tomorrow. It's just Sakura-san's timeline for Zabuza is pretty much up…"  
"Unfortunately not. I think it'll all come to a head tomorrow." He put a hand on her shoulder, he could spot the nervous look on her face, he couldn't blame her, this mission was beyond Genin, no matter how talented those Genin might be.

Raven already knew for certain that Zabuza was fit again, his clone had informed him of such, re-creating itself and dispelling twice a day kept him up to date. In fact, he was expecting his clone to dispel shortly. Of course he'd have to share the information he'd been gathering over the past few days since he wouldn't be with them tomorrow, at least not initially. Some of the others would probably be annoyed that he hadn't acted on any of his intel.

Tomorrow he'd be completing the mission he was actually sent here to fulfil.

The team of clones he'd had combing the island since his arrival had found Gatō's hiding place, although calling it a 'hiding place' was a stretch, it was lacking in subtly. It was nearly 100ft wide and three stories tall, it was the tallest structure on the island… He hoped Gatō had paid for its construction, it would make blowing it the fuck up so much more satisfying.

His clone as anticipated dispelled right then, the memories it provided brought him to an immediate halt. It wasn't the integration of those memories that stopped him, it was the contents.

"Ah, shit," he exclaimed without thinking.

"Raven?" Meshikamaru said in mild concern having heard him swear. He looked at her, "We need to get everyone together – now."

They hurried back to the house, thankfully Sakura had brought the boys back just minutes earlier. Raven called everyone into the kitchen where they quickly assembled. "Okay Raven, what's this all about?" Kakashi asked.

"First off, Zabuza is fighting fit again," he revealed, it was met with silent dread. "But that's inconsequentially in comparison, it's also not why I immediately got you all in here."  
"What could you possibly have to say that could make it worse?" Rezano said sarcastically in an attempt to hide his evident nervousness. "As we suspected, this Hunter Nin is with him, but it is not them that concerns me. It is the third Shinobi that's now with them."

"Who?" Kakashi asked eyeing the ANBU, there weren't many Nin who could worry Raven. "Ringo Ameyuri," he answered. Kakashi immediately leaned forward in his chair, his eyes widening, to most that name meant nothing but not to Kakashi. "That's not possible!" he stated. "How so?" asked Sakura with a raised eyebrow.

"Ringo Ameyuri has been dead for years. Killed off by some unknown disease, which came as a great relief to some of the higher-ups in Konoha."  
"I take it she was, is a strong Shinobi?"  
"Sakura, Ringo joined the Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū as a young teenager, Zabuza was in his, I think, early twenties when he joined. Raven, are you absolutely positive you've not misidentified this person?"

Raven threw an out-dated Konoha Bingo book onto the table, it was opened onto Ringo's entry page. "I am in no doubt. She still wields Kiba, those swords can't be faked."

Kakashi face-planted the table, this revelation would greatly complicate matters. "I don't suppose you'll be able to handle her tomorrow?" he asked tentatively after picking his head up.

"I cannot," was the answer, a reply that made Kakashi groan and simultaneously incense Rezano who jumped to his feet. "Why the hell not?" he demanded to know. Raven slowly turned his head to look at his younger sibling. "Because, he coldly stated, "I will be completing the assignment I came here to accomplish. With Zabuza out of the way the path to my target opens."  
"Gatō?" Kakashi presumed. Tazuna and Tsunami looked the Raven in hope and he gave it to them when he answered, "Correct."

Inari scoffed, "Yeah right. You've got no chance. Even with his Ninja bodyguard out of the way, you won't get past all his other thugs." Now it was Raven's turn to scoff, "You would do well not to compare me to you, boy," he harshly retorted, " Unlike you, I am actually capable of looking after myself." Raven had laced his words with a tiny smidgen of killing intent, it was still enough to leave the boy cowering behind his mother. And judging by the unimpressed look Sakura was giving him he was going to get shouted at for it later.

"So, how are we dealing with this undead one?" Sasuke irritably put to his Sensei and the ANBU. "The only real option is to have Sakura and Kusuri handle her until either I'm able to put Zabuza out of the fight or Raven is able to get rid of Gatō and join them."  
"That's probably the best we can do on such short notice," Raven concluded. "Also, Tazuna-san, Tsunami-san, I don't suppose either of you knows if Gatō commandeered the great big house he's staying in or if he paid for its construction?"

The two civilians looked at each other, "Gatō's thugs did ship an awful lot of building materials over like ten months ago," Tazuna remarked to his daughter who nodded in agreement. "Excellent. I really look forward to demolishing it now."  
"What? You're going to blow it up?"  
"Oh yes. How better to remove the legacy of his crimes than by blowing it sky high, hopefully with him still inside. I'll be going early tomorrow morning to prep the explosive tags and kill anyone there."

"Hang on, back up a little," Meshikamaru cut in. "How long have you known where Gatō is?"  
"I've known where the house is since yesterday. I'm yet to visually confirm Gatō is actually present, however."  
"And Zabuza?"  
"My clone only found him this morning," he lied. Meshikamaru suspected he wasn't being entirely truthful but possessed no knowledge she could use to call him out on it.

The next hour passed with them planning everything out. Since Zabuza, the Hunter Nin and Ameyuri had to come to them they could choose the battlefield, they chose the islands end of the unfinished bridge since it was a large open space away from the nearby town.

As before Kakashi would combat Zabuza. The Genin would tackle the Hunter-nin, alternating regularly to prevent them tiring out, two at any one time would fight while the third would rest whilst simultaneously guarding Tazuna who unfortunately for him had to play bait. Sakura and Kusuri had the unenviable task of taking on Ameyuri Ringo when nobody knew how strong she actually was.

Raven, in the meantime would make a move on the house in the early hours and flatten it. A final late modification to the plan was for Tsunami and Inari to not remain in their house tomorrow, they were to hide with neighbours. With all the Shinobi engaged, they would be vulnerable.

The group broke briefly before dinner, Raven got a hold of Kakashi's arm and guided him away from everyone else.

"Kakashi, I need you to do something for me when you encounter Zabuza tomorrow. I need you to pass a message to him for me." The look the copycat Ninja gave him almost made him laugh. "Might I inquire as to why?"  
"You know I have an intelligence network of my own like Jiraiya," he nodded. "Well for the last year I've been expanding mine but I've not been able to get any eyes and ears in Kiri. With the civil unrest everyone is suspicious of everyone."

"And you want to recruit Zabuza of all people," he asked incredulously. "Yes. I know it's a long shot. But I know for a fact he utterly despises the current Mizukage, Yagura. You've no doubt heard of the powder keg that brewing in Kiri," again Kakashi nodded. "Well I know who's leading the soon to be rebel forces and I reckon Zabuza will want in on anything that seeks to overthrow Yagura."

"Ok, that all sounds fine in theory. But, why would he believe me at all?"  
"As I said, it is a long shot, but tell him I've known where he's been holed up for several days. That I know about the Woodcutter's hut, that I know about Haku. That should at the least get his attention."

"Ok… So say I do all that and he still doesn't show interest."  
"For the record, I think he will. But, if for whatever reason he doesn't, then he's of no use to me, do with him as you see fit." Without another word he walked away leaving a very bewildered Kakashi.

Raven wanted to find Sakura next before dinner so he could get her telling him off out the way, he'd need an early night tonight ahead of an early start.

* * *

End Chapter


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

* * *

400 Followers now, these Milestones keep falling, it is pretty cool and it's all down to you lovely boys and girls. Thanks! =D

* * *

Showdown in Nami no Kuni

*Crack*

The guard never heard a thing, nor did they feel any pain as their neck snapped with a quiet but deep-toned crack. They slumped limp and lifeless into the clones arms before being dragged back into the thick branched bushes that were scattered around the large property. This one's demise raised the death toll to seven. There was no longer anyone left to patrol the perimeter.

With the guards no longer an issue, a small cluster of clones, eleven in total, quickly covered the distance between the treeline and the properties outer wall. They began placing modified explosive tags every fifteen feet, doubling up whenever they reached one of the structures support columns.

These explosive tags were modified variants of the originals, the chakra reservoirs was greatly expanded. The chakra was what created the explosive; more chakra, more explosion. Raven's testing of the tags some months earlier predicted an explosion nearly four times as powerful, and he had nearly 200 of these tags to place.

But before he set off the fireworks he wanted to scout out inside, he didn't know if anyone was being held as a prisoner. And it would be incredibly unfortunate to have any innocents killed in the places demolition.

Raven looked down at the face of the final guard his clones had killed, their face was at peace and showed no signs of pain. With a poof of smoke the man's face was replicated as Raven disguised himself. He turned to a nearby clone, "When the others are back from placing the tags tell them to watch for anyone looking to approach the house, kill any who attempt to. Also kill anyone who tries to leave."

The clone nodded its understanding. "We'll keep you updated every fifteen minutes boss," the clone added just as Raven turned to head for the house. He gave a nod of his own in return.

He simply walked up to a pair of double doors and walked inside, there wouldn't be much sneaking around whilst he was inside, he had to look and act like one of Gatō's mob.

Stepping through the doors brought him into a wide hall with a long corridor going left and right, before him was a wide staircase ascending the second floor. There was little in the way of furniture in the hall and the walls were only given mundane decoration. The floor was hardly the cleanest Raven had ever seen, dried mud and dirt was rather prevalent.

"The sun come up yet?" someone sleepily asked him. Raven turned his head to face them. They were sat in a chair leaned up against the wall, he looked on the brink of dropping off. "No," Raven grunted with a shake of the head to which they groaned at. ' _Seems this one has to watch the hall all night._ '

He headed down the hallway to the left first of all. Most of the doors on the corridor were already open enough for him to see into the room. Most were barracks and bathrooms with the odd rudimentary kitchen facility thrown in. As with the hallway, the furnishings and furniture was bare and rudimentary.

As it was still the early hours, the kitchens and bathrooms were empty and the barrack rooms crammed with occupied beds. Regardless Raven remained cautious as he slowly meandered around the bottom floor. He found a narrow staircase that descended to what he presumed to be a basement, the stairs looked as if they were used fairly often but he decided to leave it until later. He knew that if Gatō was going to be anywhere it would on the top floor.

He arrived back at the hall he'd first arrived in, the guy in the chair seemed to have lost the battle to stay awake, his head leaned back against the wall snoring softly. There was no one to see him ascend the staircase to the first floor. The staircase ended with another wide hall, it was better decorated than the one downstairs, however.

A plain light brown large rug covered a large portion of the wooden floor and there was more furniture against the walls in the form of a few smallish cupboards. Not as many of the doors on this floor were open but there were enough still open for Raven to realise that this floor was for Gatō's 'officers', his Lieutenants. Their rooms were more spacious and more comfortable. It was the same story for the kitchen and bathroom facilities.

As ordered another clone dispelled, that was the third now and for now there remained no issues, no one had attempted to enter or leave the house as he finished his loop around the first floor. All that remained was the staircase to the second and final floor.

The difference in style was abundantly clear. Instead of basic wooden floorboards, the steps to this flight were made of polished stone that seemed to be cleaned constantly judging from the still present shine the stone gave off. The Bannisters were made from some kind of metal, perhaps bronze and topped with a lacquered wooden railing.

This staircase was also guarded. At the top were two guards, each was a huge hulking mass of muscle, large swords strapped to their belts. It would be impossible for anyone to get up the stairs without being confronted by one of these two behemoths – unless of course you were someone like Uzumaki Tri.

He made sure he was out of sight of them both and anyone else, when done he shunshined behind them in total silence. With chakra silencing his footsteps he began his exploring of the uppermost level.

The first thing to notice was the substantial decrease in the number of doors. Upon closer inspection it was clear to see why, the rooms these doors led to were far larger in size, he also found where the decorating budget went, each room was lavishly outfitted with items that simply screamed 'wealth' regardless of how garish they might have been.

One smaller room had one of its walls covered from floor to ceiling in steel-plated safes. With a grin he unrolled a scroll on the floor, it was the same scroll Fūinjutsu he'd taught to Naruto, it silenced the room entirely.

' _Well, I'm was going to blow the place sky high anyway so I may as well rob Gatō blind,'_ he reasoned as the Fūinjutsu design spread around the room. With the room soundproofed he set about cracking the first safe.

The contents of the safes were as he'd expected, money and important documents filled most but one of the harder to crack ones had a small velvet pouch filled with what looked like uncut diamonds.

With his scroll and relieved valuables sealed away he headed for the final room on the floor, he had a good idea what it was as he had yet to find a bedroom on this floor.

The display of wealth started at the door, thick dark timbers, the likes of which you could only usually get from Yuki no Kuni (Land of Snow) far to the north. It was also lacquered and polished to a sheen.

Pushing the door open Raven blanched at what he found within. The sickening levels of opulence made him feel ill. The large room was dominated by a four-poster queen-sized bed draped in curtains of silk and sheets of velvet. Raven found it amusing the bed was so large when Gatō was reputed to be an incredibly short man. A series of pillows adorned the top of the bed, they seemed to shine in the early morning light. Closer inspection found they were inlaid with a series of small semi-precious stones. "What's the point in that?" he whispered to himself in confusion.

Like the door, the floor was lacquered dark wood. One wall had a stone fireplace set within, a small stack of pre-cut logs piled next to it. It was framed by a mantelpiece made from a single piece of white limestone, various small baubles made of gold and silver adorned it.

One corner had a small breakfast table with two chairs, a bowl of fresh fruit on the table. Another corner had a tall mirror stood next to a large wardrobe, on the other side was a bamboo partition to allow for privacy when dressing/ undressing.

As well as making him feel ill, the room also annoyed him because it was currently empty, it was immaculately tided but still empty, Gatō wasn't here.

"I'm still blowing it up," he muttered before stealing the baubles from the mantelpiece, he took them more out of spite than for financial gain.

He had been placing explosive tags in every room since he'd entered the house and he was down to his last two. One he affixed to the mantelpiece, the other for some reason he placed under a pillow on the bed, he didn't know why. That narrow staircase that went downwards on the bottom floor had slipped from his mind as he made his exit via one of the rooms large windows.

"Was he in there, boss?" a clone asked upon his return. Raven shook his head, "No, he's out on the island somewhere and I have a good idea where he'll show up. Let's fall back to a safe distance and light the fireworks."

With a collective nod his clones began dispelling in batches of two or three. By the time he'd retreated to what he thought was a safe distance it was just him left. He turned to face the building in the distance, he formed the Ram hand-seal, "Fūin," he said with conviction as the tags were activated.

 **Sometime earlier – At the Bridge**

There was an overriding sense of a single emotion – Nervous, it aptly described how they all felt. From the Veteran Kakashi to his three green Genin, none were immune to the worry and anxiety today would bring.

Kakashi's final words of advice to his Genin were to stick together and remember their training. Was it a cliché? Yes, but it was surprisingly accurate.

The morning came with a slight breeze that brought a mild chill, there were few clouds to block the recently risen sun but it would be a while before it started to warm up. At least with the sun up they could see now as opposed to the darkness they'd woken to an hour earlier.

Sakura and Kusuri could only wait out the oncoming clash in apprehension, it didn't help that their opponent was one long thought dead until just a few days ago. And while Sakura did have some experience in one on one combat, Kusuri did not. Sure she'd fought in group engagements before while on patrol, but not in as intimate a setting as the one they were about to face.

They'd gotten a hold of Kakashi and Raven last night and gotten every scrap of information they had on Ringo Ameyuri out of them. Despite that, they still felt very short on credible information pertaining to Ringo's fighting style that they could build a strategy around. Perhaps this disease had robbed her of a portion of her fighting power?

Wishful thinking? Well – Yeah, but Sakura would take anything she could right now. She paced back and forth with her hands behind her back, the short black gloves in place over her hands.

Meshikamaru watched a kunai spin on her finger, she needed to distract herself somehow. Meanwhile, Sasuke was leaning back against one of the bridges metal support beams, his arms folded across his chest. Rezano, like Sakura paced back and forth but his hands were by his sides, lightly fingering the chain kunai on his belt, the blades now re-sharpened.

The fog rolled in remarkably quickly, one moment the air was clear, their vision uninhibited, the next it was on top of them rolling in from the sea. "Here we go," Kakashi shouted in warning, all of them slipping into defensive stances.

Meshikamaru would take the first watch guarding Tazuna, as she was the smartest of the three of them she would watch her teammates engage the Hunter Nin firstly and learn what she could before switching in.

Kakashi quickly rolled to his right, a huge blade appearing out of nowhere to cut through the space he had occupied a fraction of a second earlier, a deep, cracking sound reverberated through the misty air as Kubikiribōchō embedded itself in the ground. Getting back to his feet Kakashi tried to counter with the kunai in his hand. Yet somehow Zabuza had the great sword back up to block quicker than seemed possible with such a large weapon.

"Nice to see you back on your feet Zabuza. Shall we pick up where we left off last time? I believe I was about to kill you." The Kiri born Nin laughed, it was a dark, deep laugh, "That's very kind of you Kakashi but I'll have to decline," he replied, their faces were only centimetres apart.

Zabuza tried to head-butt him but Kakashi pulled back quickly enough but it conceded the momentum to Zabuza for the moment as he found himself ducking under the swinging Kubikiribōchō. He tried to lunge forward but Zabuza blocked his kunai with just the narrow, elongated hilt. A knee he was just able to block forced Kakashi out of his quarries range.

"Where are they, Zabuza?" he questioned, "We know you aren't alone." The swordsman tilted his head to the side, that dark laugh returned a moment later, "I must say, Kakashi, I am surprised. Tell me, what do you know of my 'companions'?  
"That your Hunter Nin probably isn't a Hunter Nin." ' _Really wish they'd both show up and occupy themselves with the others. I'd rather they not overhear what Raven asked me to pass on._ '

"Well, you're right about that. Haku ain't no Hunter Nin."  
"WHAT!?" Rezano shouted in disbelief. "That's right boy, Haku works for me, and I know all about your little meet ups. Although I'd say she possesses the skill set needed to be a Hunter-Nin," he said going off on a slight tangent. "Anyway, you'll be fighting your new friend, boy. Ain't that right Haku?" he grinned. "Hai, Zabuza-sama," she replied appearing next to him in the mist.

She held in her hand the mask of a Hunter-Nin, Kakashi recognised it as the same one used when Zabuza had been spirited away before them. She dropped the mask and drew a series of senbon from… somewhere, Kakashi had no idea where exactly, they just seemed to appear in-between her fingers.

"Your orders, Zabuza-sama?" she asked in a voice devoid of emotion. "I want you to deal with Kakashi's little Genin and no messing around. I want three corpses when you're finished, understand?"  
"I understand, Zabuza-sama." Without another word she shot towards Kakashi's three charges, a stream of senbon already streaking through the air. They were all blocked by a pair of shuriken from Sasuke and a kunai from Meshikamaru. Sasuke rushed forward to clash with her as planned but Rezano stayed rooted to the spot.

"Rezano! The hell are you doing?" Meshikamaru shouted at him as Sasuke threw a pair of shuriken at Haku. Rezano was faced with having to fight his new friend, whom he didn't want to hurt and the need to perform his duties. They conflicted in his mind as Haku dealt with Sasuke's shuriken before they traded the opening Taijutsu exchanges. He had heard Meshikamaru's question but he didn't respond in any way as Sasuke quickly found himself on the back foot against an older, more experienced opponent.

"You picked a hell of a time to freeze up and have a crisis of conscience," Meshikamaru barked in annoyance, "You watch Tazuna, I'll do your job for you." She shot past him, letting loose two shuriken of her own in an effort to get Haku off the offensive.

"Wow, would you look at them go – well, apart from the blonde one, he seems a little timid today," Zabuza taunted. "You seem to have picked up a few more bodies since last time," he quickly added noting the presence of Sakura and Kusuri. Kakashi snorted, "And I'm not the only one, Zabuza. So… Where is she, where's Ringo?"

A brief flicker of surprise passed over the parts of Zabuza's face Kakashi could actually see. Zabuza wore wrappings over his mouth, nose and cheeks, similar to Kakashi.

"Wha? You've ruined my surprise entrance!" a female voice whined from within the mist. Sakura and Kusuri were immediately on edge as a shadow appeared in the fog walking towards them. "I'm rather annoyed really, I wanted it to be a BIG surprise," she loudly exclaimed.

As she became more visible Kakashi's eyes widened, it actually was her. She saw the look on his face, "See, that's the look I was going for!" she said in a cheerier tone pointing one of Kiba's twin blades at him. "You still spoilt it though, it would have been even better if you hadn't known."  
"Ame, go deal with Kakashi's friends," he said cutting across her, she could be difficult to get to focus on a task if not given instruction. She scowled at him for a few moments, "Fine," she finally said to Zabuza's silent relief, she was still as unpredictable as she had been years earlier.

Ameyuri turned her glare from Zabuza to the two combat medics in the near-distance. Without warning or any sign she was about to go on the offensive she vanished, a fraction of a second later reappearing much closer to them both. They almost weren't ready when she reached them moments later, one sword held high, the other low.

They knew they couldn't get hit by the blades, even if they didn't receive a cut they'd be electrocuted, the flickers of yellow light were already racing up and down the metal. Those weapons already put them at a distance disadvantage, she also seemed quicker than they were, Raiton, which usually incorporated substantial speed increases into many of its techniques, exacerbated the issue.

Despite having a numbers advantage both were immediately put on the defensive, they couldn't get any offence in at all, they were spending all their time and energy dodging those swords. One swing Sakura barely got her head under, the whistling sound of it cutting through the air sounded far louder in her ears than it actually was.

The constant movement soon saw the three of them vanish into the fog leaving just Kakashi and Zabuza. He'd probably never get a better chance, "Zabuza," he called over warily. "How much do you want Yagura gone?" he asked, the man's eyes immediately narrowing in suspicion. Sure, Zabuza's animosity for the short Kage was well known, but Kakashi's question put him on edge, "Why do you ask? What's it to you?" he questioned in return hefting his sword back onto his shoulder.

"It's not so much me, there's someone on this island who has a proposal for you."  
"And who might that be?" he retorted irritably wishing Kakashi would just get to the point. ' _Oh boy, how do I answer that with naming names?_ '

Zabuza would definitely recognise Tri's name, but saying it would compromise his ANBU alias. "Let's just say you know of them and they have a vested interest in getting you back into Mizu no Kuni so you can oppose Yagura." He knew he was being incredibly vague, he just hoped Zabuza would recognise that there was an underlying reason for it, even if he didn't know _what_ exactly.

"You're gonna have to give me a whole lot more than that Kakashi." ' _Apparently not,_ ' Kakashi sighed.

"I can't reveal their real identity to you here. Only he himself can do that. But he knew you'd be suspicious so he asked me to tell you that he knows about Haku days ago, and that he knows about the woodcutter's hut you've been recovering in." That last part grabbed his attention, "Go on," he said but Kakashi held his hands up. If this person had known about the hut he simply could have killed him off while he continued to recover.

"Sorry Zabuza, that's all I was told. If you want more you'll have to speak to him yourself, I can't imagine he'll be long he's currently ransacking your current employer's oversized house." The Missing Nin was quiet for a few moments as he dallied on his answer. Re-affirming his grip on his weapon he delivered an ultimatum, "Alright Kakashi. Either your friend gets here or I kill you. My answer will depend on what happens first."

' _Oh wonderful, the Sairento Kiringu (Silent Killing) – again,_ ' Kakashi groaned as Zabuza seemed to fade into the white mist.

It was the faintest change, a change so subtle he almost missed it, the air pressure behind Kakashi changed and it was from that alone that he knew to duck. The giant blade of Kubikiribōchō appearing out of thin air cleaving through where Kakashi had just been, it actually shaved the ends of a few strands of Kakashi's silver-grey hair.

By the time Kakashi was able to spin 180° to confront him, he was gone. ' _Damn,_ ' he thought, knowing full well not to speak, this technique worked off of sound and Zabuza was a master of it. Even with the Sharingan he struggled to see more than a few feet in front of him.

The Copycat Ninja was hardly the only Konoha Shinobi having a bad time. "Tsch," Sasuke hissed in pain as he pulled a senbon out of his arm, that was the fifth already. He and Meshikamaru hadn't enjoyed a good start, Haku had managed to keep them apart so she switched her full focus between each of them instead of splitting it.

An attempt to punch Haku in the jaw was blocked, she twisted Sasuke's arm which ended up spinning him around, she kicked him away and he stumbled forwards. He hissed in pain again as two senbon struck him either side of the tailbone.

Haku turned her attention to the Nara, stepping back to avoid a kick then blitzing forward to deliver a heavy kick of her own to Meshikamaru's ribs. It was quickly followed up with a punch to the temple that sent her to the floor in a daze whilst Sasuke pulled the offending senbon from his lower back.

Rezano still hadn't moved, his mind in conflict. On one side the desire to support his teammates and fri – well one friend and on the other his lack of desire to fight Haku. He was confused, he couldn't figure out why Haku would follow orders from someone like Zabuza. Until his mind came down from the fence it was currently perched on he could only watch as Sasuke re-entered the fray.

Just as with Meshikamaru, Haku dodged a kick from Sasuke by simply taking a step back before countering with a hard fist that caught him dead centre on the cheek, his head snapping to the side in recoil.

It was followed by a reverse leg sweep that knocked his legs from under him. Then faster than Sasuke could realise Haku chained it with a firm flatfooted kick to the chest that sent him flying back into Meshikamaru, who herself was trying to get back on her feet, they both went down in a heap. Sasuke had been in mid-air when Haku had delivered her second kick.

"I had hoped you'd at least provide me with a challenge," Haku taunted them both as they scrambled to get back on their feet. "Shut up!" Sasuke angrily shouted back. Haku just snorted, "At least you two are trying," she added, turning to look at an unmoved Rezano.

While she said nothing, the primary focus of Meshikamaru's frustration was at the stationary Rezano. His chain kunai would have provided a much-needed ability to keep Haku at a distance which they needed desperately right now, she was faster, stronger and more experienced. It didn't help she was having to work with Sasuke, it'd have been easier to persuade Haku to side with her against Sasuke instead of getting Sasuke to work with her.

They were effectively two individuals fight the same opponent. Sasuke decided to prove that immediately by rushing forward on his own. ' _Oh by Kami,_ ' she groaned as she tried to keep up. Haku ducked under Sasuke's punch and replied with a quick knee to the stomach and spinning back kick sent him sliding away. Surprisingly it provides the slimmest of windows to land a hit.

Her fist managed to catch a glancing blow against Haku's jaw, the small feeling of satisfaction it provided she suppressed. She had the slightest hint of momentum to build on but was constricted to Taijutsu which wasn't her strongest suit. Her combat style was primarily built upon her families techniques that allowed her to manipulate her shadow. But this fog was so thick, it blotted out the sun to such an extent that there were no shadows for her to influence.

She heard the telltale sound of flying shuriken behind her and just off to the right so she leant left, two of the metal implements flying past her head moments later, one of them almost nicking the skin on Haku's cheek. Unfortunately it put a small distance between the two Kunoichi as Sasuke threw a second pair of shuriken before his hands began weaving hand-seals.

Haku blocked them both with a pair of well-thrown senbon. Meshikamaru had to keep her distance, she recognised the seals Sasuke's hands were making. " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** ," he said, a ball of fire growing from his mouth before he fired it at her.

Haku flew through a few seals of her own before unleashing a wintry blast of frigid wind that stole the ambient warmth from the air and the heat from the flames, the ball of fire withered, weakened and dissipated entirely before it could reach her.

Haku did get to enjoy the look of shock on young Sasuke's face, however, especially when he realised there was a stream of senbon heading for him. Haku had released them into her icy wind and that had carried them towards Sasuke.

While the two young Genin had at the very least landed a hit from their minimal offence, Sakura and Kusuri hadn't even managed any offence. Ameyuri had started on the offensive and had yet to be knocked off it.

The ceaseless weaving of unpredictable attack patterns with her two swords had the two young women backing up constantly, they had to concede ground to maintain any semblance of distance and the lightning-imbued weapons were still coming too close for comfort. Neither had yet to see a weakness in Ringo's form to exploit, despite the crazed appearance she never over-extended or compromised the positioning of her feet.

Then Ringo suddenly stopped moving, Sakura and Kusuri dared not counter lest it turn out to be a trap as the missing Nin brought her hands together, the sword blades held parallel. Electricity began arcing between them, the air around them thrummed with building energy and with a menacing grin Ameyuri spoke, " **Raiton: Raiga** ," (Lightning Release: Lighting Fang), the swords aimed at them both.

The intervals between the building electrical current arcing between the swords continued rapidly decreasing until it was happening several times a second, the weapons glowing yellow.

Working on pure instinct Sakura kicked Kusuri out of the way before diving to the ground herself. Not a quarter of a second later the building current discharged all at once. A suddenly blue-white streak of super-hot lightning streaked towards them. In its wake it left a black singed trail where the electrical energy scorched the ground.

It shot past them both, both scrambled to get back on their feet when they notice Ameyuri charging another bolt. Now that she had a moment of guaranteed distance Sakura pulled back her fist and with a great cry drove it into the ground.

She was far from mastering Tsunade's chakra Taijutsu style but she accomplished enough to help them right now, she had been incredibly surprised when Tsunade had offered to teach her the basics of it. The ground before was made from compacted dirt, sand and small stones. The release of chakra from her fist fractured the ground with remarkable speed, great clumps of earth hundreds of kilograms in weight groaned and heaving under the pressure as they were thrown into the air.

The 'wave' of moving earth headed for Ameyuri who had no choice but to jump high into the air to avoid it.

Even if not imbued with Doton chakra, earth was a very effective counter for absorbing or blocking Raiton Ninjutsu. "Well, it appears my meal can fight back after all," she chuckled whilst still in mid-air. "But let's see how good you really are at dodging," she declared lifting her arms above her head, crossing her swords in an X pattern.

" **Raiton: Raiaaku** ," (Lightning Release: Lightning Arc).

Her swords struck one another with a resounding metallic clang, thin streaks of blue lightning sparked from the blades ends. They grew in frequency and ferocity and soon began striking the ground in a circular pattern that quickly expanded to encompass a larger area.

Both combat medics found themselves weaving through the glutton of miniature lightning bolts. Sakura was comfortable in her ability to dodge, training with someone far faster than her in Tri had helped her developed a sub-conscious ability to dodge, not needing to think to move greatly decreased her reaction times.

Kusuri, however, wasn't so lucky, "AHH!," she cried out in pain as a bolt struck her on her the forearm just below her elbow. The bolts entire payload was unloaded through her nervous system, coursing through every part of her body.

By sheer chance, she hadn't been in contact with the ground when she'd been hit, if she had she'd have been completely incapacitated unable to continue whatsoever. It might well have saved her life as the current was unable to pass through her body to reach the ground.

She did hit the ground a split second later, however, and heavily. Both her knees were scuffed by the impact, her left arm fell limply to her side, a nasty looking black mark almost four inches long was burned into her skin. "Are you ok?" a deeply concerned Sakura asked appearing next to her. "Not really," she answered in deep discomfort,

"But on a more positive note, the shock has thrown my pain receptors out of whack so I can't feel anything right now," she joked, "which is nice because for the second or two I could feel it, it was really, really painful."

The fingers on Kusuri's left hand were twitching erratically, she seemed to still have control of her legs and remaining arm but now they were in big trouble. "We're gonna have to think of something and fast," she quietly, but unnecessarily explained, Kusuri already knew. If they didn't think they could defeat Ringo then they were to hold out until Raven arrived. But given she had no idea how much longer it would be until he did, she feared they may both be dead by then.

Kakashi too was struggling, he still hadn't been able to keep track of Zabuza long enough to get a hit in which was proving to be rather frustrating since Zabuza had now managed to give him a shallow cut just above his elbow. He tried to ignore the wet warmth slowly trickling down his forearm, a few drops of blood stained the ground at his feet.

He reached into the pouch over his tailbone and withdrew a half dozen kunai, each with an explosive tag already tied to them. He threw each of them no more than three feet from him in a circle.

"An interesting idea, Kakashi," Zabuza's voice said through the mist, it carried so he couldn't pin down a rough location. "But the question becomes; can you sense me quickly enough to set them off before I get within your little shield?"

The very moment he finished speaking he appeared out of absolutely nowhere directly in front of Kakashi, Kubikiribōchō already swinging, he was also inside Kakashi's ring of explosive tags. In preparation Kakashi already had another kunai in his hand, with it he deflected Zabuza's overhead swing, the sword embedding nearly six inches into the ground. Kakashi threw the kunai which made Zabuza hide behind his weapon for cover while Kakashi jumped clear.

It was after Zabuza re-emerged from behind the wide bladed weapon that he realised something. All of Kakashi's explosive tags – faced inwards. He laughed quietly, "Very clever…" *Boom*

The brief flash of light, followed by a plume of smoke shrouded Zabuza from view, the explosion's blast wave threw off the blanket of fog for a few moments before it came flooding back in.

The fog returning and the smoke clearing happened in tandem, for a split second Kakashi's vision was unimpeded. But all he saw was Kubikiribōchō unmoved, Zabuza was gone. ' _He ditched the sword to ensure he got back to a safe distance. I need to keep him from retrieving it._ '

Most of the other combatants had heard the explosion but were otherwise too occupied to take any notice.

Haku had decided it was time to finish her opponents to return to Zabuza's side, unlike most she had paid enough attention to know the recent explosion had come from where she believed Zabuza to be, she didn't know whether he was injured or in trouble.

"I think this has dragged on long enough," she said to her two opponents, "My time could be better spent elsewhere." Meshikamaru pulled Sasuke back to his feet, a senbon still buried in his shoulder. Both watched her form a hand-seal neither had ever encountered before, " **Makyō Hyōshō** ," (Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals).

All around and above them a series of what looked like mirrors seemed to grow out of nothing, Haku had trapped them both in her deadliest technique, one that made full use of her Kekkai Genkai. The mirrors grew to about 6ft in height and about 3ft wide, there were twenty-one in total, and they formed a dome around them leaving no avenue for escape.

They watched as Haku jumped into one of the mirrors, they were all linked so she appeared in all twenty-one.

"Don't suppose you've any bright ideas?" Sasuke asked, his voice noticeably missing the usual derogatory tones it possessed on the rare occasions he actually spoke to her. "Err, well – judging by the name," she said looking around at all of the mirrors, "I presume these things are made of ice. Try melting one," she suggested.

With a shrug and a gruff grunt as he extracted the senbon lodged in his shoulder, Sasuke repeated his earlier Jutsu, " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**." The ball of flames quickly struck the mirror in front of him and did absolutely nothing.

"Well. That did jack shit," Meshikamaru remarked, allowing her distaste for swearing to lapse for a moment, "Yep…" Sasuke replied. That's when the senbon once again started flying.

Both dodged and weaved through the endless streams of needle-sharp implements, but with them coming from every direction it was only a matter of time. For every four senbon either blocked or avoided, a fifth would find its target. ' _Huh, it's becoming less painful_ ', she wondered as she started to feel sleepy.

' _Didn't Zabuza order her to kill us? Why is she only making non-lethal strikes?_ ' she asked herself, every senbon was aimed at non-vital targets, the elbow/ knee joints, the shoulders, the forearms and non-critical nerve bundles.

Sasuke was breathing heavily, steeling himself as he extracted another senbon when Meshikamaru dropped to one knee, before he could react she fell further, a rueful grin on her face. She didn't know if he understood but it was her way of silently apologising for going down as soon as she had.

The Uchiha looked down at his stilled teammate, he considered her an overbearing busybody and while he couldn't stand her highly assertive personality she was dependable and capable, rather unlike another certain 'teammate' of his right now.

He just continued to stare at her, Haku had strangely and rather accommodatingly stopped casting her senbon. It was almost a minute later when he lifted his head to face the multitude of mirrors surrounding him. Haku breathed in a silent gasp, ' _What happened to his eyes? It looks like Kakashi's?_ ' she thought in alarm.

Unbeknownst to Sasuke, his eyes had indeed changed, no longer was the iris black and the sclera white, replacing them was a blood red with black dots. His left eye possessing a single tomoe, his right eye with two.

"An Uchiha?" she whispered to herself. With this new information she changed tact, increasing the number of senbon. She didn't know much about the Kekkai Genkai of the Uchiha clan but had heard enough from Zabuza following his first throw down with Kakashi to know she wanted to end this asap.

She couldn't afford to take any chances now lest his newly awakened eyes sus out a way to defeat her.

Kusuri was evidently struggling now, it was only Sakura's presence and frantic guarding actions that prevented Ameyuri from landing the killing blow. Kusuri's arm was still non-functional, she was now having to hold it close to her body with her other hand. That wasn't her only issue either, her movements were slowing and quickly. The lightning had sapped a great portion of her energy.

She wasn't ignorant to her mounting problems, she knew that right now, this was only ending one way, with her inevitable death, leaving Sakura to face her alone. Then she had an idea.

"Sakura, I think I have an idea that'll put her down for good," she said as they got a moments respite, "But I need you to trust me on this."  
"I'm all ears, hit me with it."  
"No time to explain, I'll tell you when it's time. When I do – Go for the kill, no questions."

"What are you two parroting about?" Ameyuri half asked, half laughed as she flung herself forward once more, her swords swinging. Neither Konoha Kunoichi answered as they began the waiting game, Kusuri needed Ameyuri to make one specific move but she had no way of knowing how long it would be before it was used again.

' _I hope she doesn't keep me waiting too long, I'm not sure I can go much further._ ' Her legs were beginning to feel like they were made of lead. All in all she was feeling rather terrible.

Ameyuri had of course overheard every word but was unconcerned, neither had been able to land a hit on her yet after all. One of them was on her last legs and the pinkette wouldn't be far behind when it became just her. She just needed to separate them long enough the kill off the injured one. A wide horizontal sweep with the sword in her right arm made the pink one jump back, Ameyuri deliberately overextended her swing to make her jump back further than she'd have liked.

As the other was injured she couldn't act on the overextension. And with pinky out of the way for a moment Ameyuri seized her chance and with a grin on her face jumped forward. Thrusting her sword out in front of her, she aimed to skewer Kusuri on it. Kusuri grinned back as she saw her opportunity.

"Sakura, now!" she alerted her before also leaping forward towards Ameyuri. Sakura and Ameyuri both went wide-eyed, both had realised what she intended to do. She'd jumped straight at Ameyuri's blade point, it was unavoidable.

Moments later the weapon, a few flickers of electricity coursing through the metal, the tip slid into her abdomen, the sharpened chakra metal effortlessly cutting through her. Sakura could only look on in horror as the point and ridge of Kiba, stained with blood punctured out of her back, it had missed her spine by millimetres.

Kusuri coughed up a huge glob of blood that spewed all over the front of an utterly dumbfounded Ameyuri's outfit, she was so surprised that she'd ceased lacing her swords with chakra. As someone who'd spent most of her life looking out for herself and only herself she just couldn't comprehend why anyone would willingly kill themselves.

It soon after all began to fall into place, while she was mortally wounded, Kusuri wasn't dead yet. With what was left of her rapidly diminishing chakra she latched onto Ringo's arm with her one good hand with a vice-like grip.

Despite the shock of watching her friend effectively condemn herself to death Sakura had kept a hold of enough of her mental faculties to realise why she'd done it, Kusuri had pinned down Ringo and taken one of her swords out of the equation. Sakura was on the move, her left fist cocked back, the chakra already building, her target was the second sword, with no Raiton chakra going through it she could afford to make contact with little risk.

Instead of moving the sword to defend herself, Ameyuri was too focused on trying to free herself from Kusuri's restraints, "Let go of me you stupid bitch!" she hissed, Kusuri only grinned back, the blood still freely pouring from her mouth. But it was too late, Sakura was upon her. The massive punch cracked off the side of Kiba, the sheer amount of kinetic energy transferred fractured Ameyuri's wrist. The sword shot from her grasp, embedding itself nearly six inches into the ground several feet away.

She let out a howl of pain, now she was defenceless and Kusuri still wouldn't let go. Sakura's eyes met hers, the animosity in those eyes smouldered intensely, Ringo knew she was fucked as Sakura pulled back her right fist and with a loud cry of "AGH!" she drove home.

Her fist connected with her jaw and cheekbone, the release of chakra upped the damage to devastating levels. Ameyuri's jaw shattered, most of the teeth along her left side of her jaw were knocked loose. But that didn't do the most damage, shards of her cheekbone fragmented, and because Sakura was shorter and her punch angled upwards, were sent deeper into her skull at an upwards trajectory.

For Ameyuri, the pain was overwhelming but fleeting, in just a moment it was gone. "Huh," she slurred as her balance began to fail her. The bone fragments had ripped through her brain, the damage was extensive and irreversible. She fell forward, she never tried to break her fall, she couldn't, she had slipped unconscious before she even hit the ground.

Without another sound she died moments later.

Sakura utterly ignored Ringo's corpse, far too concerned for Kusuri. With extreme care she pulled the weapon from her stomach and desperately tried to save her life.

Rezano could only look on, his legs simply refused to unlock despite his desire to help Meshikamaru, to help Sasuke. She hadn't moved since collapsing a few minutes earlier and now it seemed Sasuke was about to join her. His Uchiha teammate was now struggling to stand up straight, his body better resembling that of a hedgehog.

Sasuke himself never actually fell, he was instead blown off his feet after which he lacked the strength to stand again.

Because off in the distance something was set off. Birds, more in tune with their surroundings than most, fled in its wake, the trees shook, a great force bending their trunks in a single direction, leaves and small branches were ripped from them. The ground shook with its passing, accompanied by a deep, reverberating, booming soundtrack.

* **BOOM** *

It's arrival swept the fog away with one almighty blast and saw the return of the sun. Off in the distance a vast cloud, shaped vaguely like a mushroom, soared skywards. The more eagle-eyed of onlookers would have seen pieces of debris cast hundreds of feet into the air and would eventually land again upwards of two to three miles away. Everyone was blown off their feet.

It took several seconds for Rezano to pick up his wits again and pull himself back to his feet. ' _Sasuke!_ ' his mind screamed as he remembered the trouble he was in. His eyes locked onto the still form of the young Uchiha, on the ground, still - just like Meshikamaru.

His heartbeat seemed deafening in his head, his blood felt as if it was heating up. " **Give In.** " That vindictive voice at the back of his mind spoke, quietly, trying to tempt him as anger began to stir in Rezano's heart.

" **Make her pay,** " it spoke, it was sinister and laced with malice. It was trying to persuade him, and Rezano listened, it's deep, foreboding, simple words resonated with him as his anger continued to build. " **Pain – Suffering – Death. You can inflict these all upon her. But you must let go. Give in to your fury.** "

"Yes," Rezano quietly said as his face began to take on a more feral appearance. The whisker birthmarks on his cheeks thickened in appearance and darkened in colour, his naturally spiky hair seemed to grow jagged and sharper. The nails on his fingers and feet grew to resemble claws. His lips grew dark in colour as his incisors elongated to look like fangs as his eyes turned red, the pupil's and iris's changing to narrow black slits.

Haku watched on, baffled by the multitude of physical changes, but in particular those eyes, they stared at her, brimming with hate. Those malicious eyes narrowed, his lips peeled back to reveal four sharp canine fangs and he lowly growled, " **Kill**."

He kicked off – hard, the ground crumpling underfoot as he shot towards Haku. The sheer speed he moved at startled Haku but she quickly reassured herself that she was safe in her mirrors, nothing had ever damaged one of them.

*Smash*

The now feral Rezano hurled himself at a mirror and subsequently went straight through it, the sound a mix of shattering ice and breaking glass. Hundreds of shards and fragments were strewn across the floor. Rezano hunched protectively over his two downed teammates as his anger continued to rise.

He looked around, Haku was present in every mirror, with a roar he launched himself at a second. Senbon were thrown from every mirror but she struggled to keep up, by the time her senbon reached where Rezano had been, he was long gone. And any that did hit seemed to melt in seconds, the tiny pinprick wound rapidly healing over.

He threw himself with reckless abandon at a second mirror. It was the one directly to Haku's left, she had to move. One of the benefits provided by her mirrors was the ability to move between them extremely quickly. With Rezano committed to the mirror he was about to go through she made her move and slipped out..

A sudden pain in her ankle made her look down, she gasped in shock, Rezano had grabbed her ankle in mid-air with a frightening display of reactionary speed. His grip was crushing as he swung her over his head with a great roar and sent her flying as he crashed through the second mirror.

She hit the ground hard, she slid to a stop several feet later, there was a sharp pain in her chest, she'd felt something break upon impact. Rezano's throwing of her meant she had a few moments before he'd re-emerge, by sheer luck he'd thrown himself into a pile of building materials with an almighty crash. With that chance she hid behind a pile of pre-cut wooden boards.

Rezano jumped back into the middle of Haku's dome of mirrors, she'd stopped supplying chakra to them, thus they had all begun to slowly melt. Rezano looked around for any sign but he couldn't find her, his already heightened anger spiked further as he continued searching for her. Then his eyes locked into someone, it wasn't Haku. With another roar he charged towards them, he was far past the point of distinguishing friend from foe.

Sakura, still focused entirely on Kusuri was utterly unaware of the impending danger. With a clawed hand held aloft Rezano rapidly covered the remaining ground with a huge leap, fully intent of clawing chunks out of Sakura's back.

The pain didn't register.

One moment, Rezano was less than two feet from Sakura. The next, he was sent sailing backwards with such force that he created a crater trail upon impact as he slid along the compacted dirt and sand that formed the terrain. With a deep growl and animalistic reflexes he flipped himself upright, hunched down on all-fours in a quadrupedal stance. Between Sakura and him now stood a masked figure.

Immediately that figure became the target of Rezano's swelling bloodlust. The voice's influence growing in his mind, " **Kill Them!** " it commanded, Rezano complied.

The ground again giving way underfoot, Rezano hurtled towards this new arrival, the longing to kill was now overpowering. His clawed fingers once more led the way but despite the oncoming threat the masked man didn't move. Meters became feet, feet became inches and with only six inches separating claw from throat they made their move.

At a speed beyond even Rezano's heightened ability to sense he leaned ever so slightly to the right, Rezano's claw sailing past. With his left fist clenched, a small amount of chakra laced into his knuckles, Raven drove it into Rezano's unguarded stomach.

Rezano had never, ever been punched as hard as he had just been. The red mist that had fogged his mind was blown away entirely by the sudden wave of pain as the wind was knocked out of him. With the blinding anger removed, there was nothing to dull the pain as his body wrapped around the ANBU's fist. He passed out as he dropped to the ground.

Raven surveyed the re-thickening mist, despite the enormous explosion he'd set off it was drifting back to cover the battleground. With a shake of the head he temporarily removed his mask and with one hand formed the Tori (Bird) Seal. " **Fūton: Daitoppa** ," (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The blast of howling wind he emitted again scattered the thick white mist.

Replacing his mask he was able to get a good view of the battle site, he intended to bring it all to a swift conclusion and ensure no one was seriously injured… That's when he spotted Sakura and Kusuri. With a blitz of speed he shot to their side.

The pool of blood beneath Kusuri was substantial, her face, blank and expressionless had gone chalk white. Raven squatted down and placed his index and middle fingers against the side of her neck, he was searching for a pulse, he waited a few seconds – there wasn't one. With a melancholic sigh he stood and walked around her body, Sakura hadn't even noticed she'd passed away.

"Sakura," he gently said placing his hands on her shoulders, a slight squeeze got her attention. "She's gone, Sakura," he quietly said in her ear. She stiffened at his words, her own bloodstained hand moved to Kusuri's neck with the intent of confirming she didn't have a pulse. Her whole body sagged as she confirmed it for herself.

"I'm sorry, Sakura. But there'll be time to grieve for her later, right now I need you to see to the Genin." She fought back the tears building in her eyes and gave a determined nod. He gave her a very brief hug then was gone. With a deep breath she closed her friend's vacant eyes, stood, looked around and made her way to Rezano. Raven reappearing a moment later to deposit Sasuke and Meshikamaru next to their teammate.

"They're both just unconscious," he informed her before swatting a single senbon aimed at his neck out of the air. He turned his head to see a very nervous Haku nervously backing up, "Don't. Do. That. Again," he warned. Haku gasped as this new arrival simply swatted her senbon away without even looking at it, _'How did he know it was there?_ ' she asked herself in alarm.

Her attention, however, was drawn away elsewhere almost immediately.

Raven's Fūton Jutsu had cleared the fog far enough for Haku to see Kakashi charging towards a restrained Zabuza, multiple Ninken latched onto his body holding him still, Kakashi's hand glowed a luminous blue, the occasional flicker of electricity discharging into the air.

Haku realised the impending threat to Zabuza's life, her body moved instinctively without her needing to think. As fast as her exhausted, battered body would carry her she rushed to block Zabuza's oncoming death. Time seemed to slow down for her as Kakashi's lightning immersed hand drew closer, there was a brief moment she thought she wouldn't get there in time but with a huge sense of relief she realised she would.

It was a strange sensation, being glad to give your life for another's as she slid to a stop in front of Zabuza, Kakashi's eyes going wide as his hand drilled through her chest. The sound of tearing flesh and breaking bone was nauseating as her blood covered the three of them.

"Huh. Doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would," Haku quietly noted with a wry smile on her face. "I'm sorry Zabuza-sama, but it appears we must part ways here," she said to him and before he could say a word in reply she slumping forward and slid off of Kakashi's stilled arm, the impact had destroyed her heart and lungs. Zabuza couldn't quite believe she'd just given her life to save his. "Haku," he whispered despondently.

"Well, I'll be, if you all aren't making my job easier, that's two that I don't have to kill off myself – soon to be three," an all too familiar voice to Zabuza said arrogantly. "Gatō," he deeply growled, "Kakashi, get your summons off me. My priorities have just changed."  
"Oh? And just what are you going to do Zabuza? Look at you, you're already one foot in the grave as is. Why not do you and me a favour and finish yourself off."  
"Yeah – no. It's time you got put six feet under Gatō."

"And while I agree with your sentiments whole-heartedly Zabuza, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to call dibs," iterated Raven as he appeared next to Haku's body. He knelt down and closed her eyes before standing again.

"And who are you supposed to be, ANBU?"  
"I'm the ANBU who's going to reunite you with your friend if you try and interfere. My grievance with this prick predates yours. And considering I'd much rather you survived to see tomorrow, perhaps it'll impress upon you the seriousness of my words." With a suspicion that this was the one Kakashi mentioned he turned his head to look at the Copycat Ninja, Kakashi nodded back confirming his suspicion.

Despite giving the ANBU a fierce glare as his hand wrapped around the hilt of Kubikiribōchō he backed down. "I presume Kakashi told you of what I've to offer?" Kakashi confirmed with another nod. "He spoke truthfully Zabuza, so if you want rid of Yagura then leave Gatō to me, I assure you his death will not be pleasant and as a small token of compensation for your friend you can murder the riff-raff he brought with him."

"Fine," he answered, still unhappy but somewhat placated. Gatō had brought upwards of thirty to forty of his mob with him, their deaths would mollify Zabuza for now and give him a target to vent his anger on.

With a nod of his own Raven slowly began walking towards Gatō. "I've waited a long time for this. I've often wondered if I'd ever get my hands on you, you'd done ever so well at covering the evidence trail but alas it wasn't good enough. And now, here you are, right in front of me." He stopped about ten feet in front of the short man.

He punched his fist into his palm and tilted his head to the side. "Do you remember her name?"

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End Chapter


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

A long time coming

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 **Review Responses** :

: I decided to have them all die because I've had surprisingly few named characters actually die so far, especially on the 'good' side.

 **EeveeTheImmortal** : You're telling me. At a guess we'll reach the Shippuden time skip at around chapter 60-65. The Shippuden arcs will be put into their own separate story and lord knows how many chapters that'll end up being.

 **LandoCali** : Ha! It actually does as well, I had no idea. I've always known 'Prodigal' as a word used to describe a person or persons as a prodigy.

 **Kaiokenkaizer** : I have begun the early stages of planning out the 'remastered' edition of this fic that aims to rectify the many issues present, some of which you've highlighted. The early chapters especially suffer from these problems, whether it be poor character development, lack of storytelling for characters or borrowing too heavily from SoulReaperCrewe.

* * *

 **Ok, we're back. Would have likely been done last week but the tone of the chapter kept changing from more serious to lighthearted and back again so I had to reorganise this chapter and the next one.**

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"Do you remember her name?"

It was just five simple words, they were spoken in a calm and neutral voice and on the surface at least would appear innocent enough. But under the surface it was a very different story, behind Raven's calm demeanour was a storm of pent-up and barely repressed anger.

"What?" Gatō said in confusion. He had a large forehead, although you could attribute that to a receding hairline, speaking of his hair, it was long and a dull brown similar to the colour of dirt. He wore a small pair of circular glasses, the lenses were not much bigger than his eyes and were slightly tinted and his face in general was rather round.

"I said – Do you remember her name?" The strain was beginning to show in his voice, it was a little deeper this time, each word punctuated with a spike of building animosity.

The short man, dressed in a grey suit snorted, he presumed this guy was talking about Zabuza's dead brat, "Hmph, what does it matter? Haku's de…"

"I'm. Not. Talking. About. Haku," he cut him off, a small pause between each word as it became harder and harder to keep himself in check. "It's not Zabuza's runt? So how the fuck am I supposed to know who you're on about.?" He questioned in return, his tone carried utter indifference.

"Zabuza. Could you lop off a few limbs please." His eyes never moved from Gatō as he spoke to the missing-nin behind him. Zabuza took a moment to answer, he was taken a little by surprise, he wasn't expecting to be asked to start cutting people. Nevertheless he reunited with his sword and hefted it back onto his shoulder, "I'd be happy to," he said with a dark laugh.

Despite his injuries he was still more than quick enough to get amongst Gatō's mob, after all they were nothing more than civilian mercenaries and even that was a stretch.

Zabuza disappeared from sight, they all looked around nervously. A ripping, tearing sound was followed by "AGH!" as one of their number screamed. The others all span to face the noises origin, they were greeted by the sight of one of their own on the ground whimpering, his left hand clutched at the shoulder where his right arm used to be. Without knowing they all backed up, then they heard the second scream.

They all span 180°, a cascade of gasps and worried cries sounded. A second mercenary was on the ground, his left arm missing this time. It wasn't much but it fulfilled its purpose, Gatō's hired muscle were scared and on the brink of routing. Zabuza appeared back next to Tri, his sword in one hand and two detached arms in the other. He threw them both out into no man's land between the two groups.

"Zabuza. Those who run die last," Raven declared. The purpose of his words was clear, and it worked. To the Merc's, they interpreted what they heard as 'Whoever runs first has the best chance to survive. You stay – you die.'

They broke. Weapons were dropped as they ran, metal clattered to the ground as they tried to get as far away from the guy with the giant sword as fast as they could. None of them got more than thirty feet. Zabuza flickered in and out of them, streaks of blood flew through the air along with the occasional limb, several were cleaved clean in half. Kubikiribōchō was soon immersed in Iron-rich blood.

"Oh, it seems you've killed all of them."  
"Yeah, my bad. But I've had a really bad day so far, sometimes it's difficult to restrain yourself, you know how it is. Besides, it made me feel better."  
"Oh no, I understand perfectly my friend. Sometimes your feelings get the better of you and before you know it, everyone's dead." Gatō could only shudder, he could still hear the cries of the dying behind him.  
"But you understand what killing off those who get in the way is like, don't you Gatō?"  
"I – I…"

"But your words concern me," Raven again interrupted. "How deep and debauched must your crimes be that her name is lost to your conscience." The short man didn't reply, he was already terrified and was wracking his brain for who this masked man was talking about.

"I don't think he's ever going to remember if you don't drop him a clue or two. I presume he's responsible for the death of someone you knew, in which case, you're going to have to be far more specific," Zabuza suggested. Raven rolled his neck, "You're right."

He tore the mask from his face and threw it against the ground where it bounced it a distinctive sounding clatter. The Genjutsu around him dropped revealing the tomoe of his left eye spinning rapidly. Zabuza's eyes widened, he recognised the person standing next to him, he had mentioned him in a conversation he'd had with Haku not days earlier.

"Perhaps this will help narrow it down for you," he said as a folded piece of violet material appeared in his hand. Without the mask his voice was now undistorted, the emotion coursed through it.

Unfolding the material he threw it around his waist and tied the knot, he spun it a few inches to the right so the Jūnishi symbol was facing forward parallel with his thigh. "This narrow it down enough for you?" he asked heatedly. The colour drained from Gatō's face as he recognised the slightly modified Kanji for 'fire' – 火, that served as the symbol for the guardians of Hi no Kuni's Daimyō.

Suffice to say, Gatō remembered who specifically the Ninja was referring to now. He didn't even notice he was doing it but he was slowly backing away trying to get as great a distance between himself and them as possible but for every step he took, they took two.

' _Damn it, damn it, damn it. Why did I antagonise Zabuza over his brats death? I might have been able to bribe him to kill this one off._ ' All around him his bodyguar – meatshields were dead or dying.

"You remember now, don't you," Tri asked in far too calm a voice to be genuine, his hands tucked behind his back. The constant changes of tone were confusing Gatō even more, then he tripped.

"Hey Rezano, how you feeling?" Kakashi asked as the first of his Genin was discharged by Sakura. "I'm alright – I think, my stomach really hurts though, can't remember why. What's been happening since… oh," Rezano's eyes fell on the body of Haku, his new friend was dead, but she had a peaceful, almost serene look on her face despite the gaping hole in her chest.

"She gave her life willingly Rezano," Kakashi said placing his hand on his shoulder. "Death is an inevitability for all Shinobi and she chose an admirable way to embrace the inevitable. She gave her life for Zabuza's."  
"But why? Why does someone like Haku have to die instead of Zabuza."  
"Oh come on," Kakashi said with that trademark eye-smile, "Zabuza's not that bad. Seems like he's on our side now."  
"Huh?"

Kakashi pointed over to the former Kiri nin, "He and your brother are busy dealing with Gatō."  
"Brother?" he said in surprise he scanned ahead to find which one Kakashi was referring to, he quickly spotted the distinctive black and red hair. "Tri? Why is he wearing Raven's gear?"  
"Uh… Because he is Raven." ' _Guess his brain is still a little sluggish,_ ' he surmised.

"Why didn't he tell me? And why did you know?"  
"Because you didn't need to know, ANBU identities are kept secret for a reason and I knew because I'm mission leader and the senior most Shinobi present on our mission. Although the secrecy part seems to have been forgotten."  
"Ok, I get that," he conceded, "But why is he here?" Again Kakashi pointed towards them and a backing up Gatō, "Why do you think."  
"To kill Gatō?"  
"Bingo. And you will not interfere." It was then they watched Gatō fall backwards, he'd tripped over the bodies of his one of his lackeys.

"Wait, wait, please," Gatō pleaded, his hands held up in front of him in surrender. Tri stopped a few steps in front of him. "What's it going to cost to make this go away?" he asked suggestively. Bribing had gotten him so far in the past, it had gotten him trade deals, it had gotten him past bureaucracy and meddlesome politicians, it had gotten rid of other meddlesome politicians in a more permanent manner.

It had worked superbly well for him, no one else mind, but no one else mattered in his world. What reason did he have to believe it wouldn't work again.

Zabuza, however, seemed to disagree, "Seriously?" he said drolly, "Bribery? You really think that's going to work this time? Just face it Gatō, you're fucked. Even if by some miracle he doesn't kill you, I still will."

Despite that he still tried, he stuck to his 'code', Zabuza had to give him that. "Come on kid, name your price, 500,000 Ryo?" His first offer made Tri snort in amusement, he'd get more for delivering Gatō's head to Daimyō-sama – not the body, just the head would do. His answer was to take another two steps forward.

"One million?" he hurriedly said doubling his offer, the nervousness was beginning to creep into his voice, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. This time Tri actually gave him a proper answer, a slow shake of the head.

"Two million?" Was the third offer, that sense of nervousness was replaced by fear as Tri neared ever closer. "Give it up Gatō, he's not interested."

"H-hey Zabuza, I'll give you two million Ryo to kill the Jūnishi." He was truly growing desperate. Zabuza just laughed at the offer, "Are you kidding? You don't seem to understand. Look at the state of me, dog bites all over, he'd kill me without much effort right now."  
"Well, there's that too, but what you also don't know is that you have no money to bribe anyone whatsoever. You see, that giant explosion, you can't have missed it, that was me blowing that abomination you call – called a house sky high. But before I did that I relieved all those safes of their contents."

The grin on Zabuza's face seemed akin to one you'd find on a cat after it successfully broke into a pantry filled with fresh cream, shredded chicken and tuna. "You may now consider yourself penniless, an ironic way for your life to end really."

Gatō's hands and suit were now soaked in blood, Zabuza had made sure to hit major arteries, a lot of major arteries, the ground was covered in a thin and slick layer of red, he grimaced at the wet touch but he had more pressing concerns right now. He had no money, for the first in, well ever, he'd never not had money, his entire life had been spent making life's problems go away through the medium of currency. Now with it gone it was the end of the line.

"Please, please, please don't kill me," he begged, his eyes screwed shut, his hands clasped together as if praying as Tri grabbed a handful of his suit's front. "Come now Gatō, it's far too late for that, at least meet your death with some dignity.

He punched him, square in the face – hard. Gatō's skull reverberated as the recoil made his head snap back. His head fell forward again but before he could cry out in pain he was punched again, this time joined by a sinewy snap as his nose broke under the assault, a splatter of blood splashed across Tri's knuckles as the third punch came in.

Zabuza. Kakashi. Rezano. All three watched on in absolute silence as Tri hit him again and again. Their feelings as they watched differed greatly, Zabuza watched on with a sense of satisfaction, it seemed the stereotype of Konoha Shinobi's status as 'softies' didn't apply to this one. Kakashi was indifferent while Rezano shook his head in disapproval.

One minute became two, then three and Tri's pace didn't let up, if anything it only increased, Gatō's face was now a blood-ridden mess, distinctive features hidden under a layer of blood and swelling. His grip on the man's suit was the only thing holding him up now having long since been knocked senseless and unconscious.

Kakashi and Rezano were joined by Sakura, " Sasuke and Meshikamaru are still out of it for now but both are fine… And what is Tri doing?"  
"Oh, thank you Sakura. And he's killing Gatō – I think," Kakashi answered. "By punching him to death?"  
"I think that's what he's going for, yeah. From what I've been able to overhear, Gatō's transgressions have finally caught up with him."

Rezano snorted, "Sensei, just don't call it justice or whatever, call it for what it is – murder, plain and simple," Rezano said aloud. His words actually brought Tri to a halt, his head quickly snapping to the side to face his younger sibling. Rezano was unnerved by that look in his eyes, he couldn't hold his gaze and looked away.

"If you knew the full depths this scum has gone to serve himself you might be whistling a different tune. The pain this man has caused, the lives he's ended or forever destroyed." He hit him again, his head just limply rolled around on his shoulders.

"Tri!," Sakura barked, "That's enough, you've made your point – just put him out of his misery." Her words bit deep into his psyche, for the first time in his life he felt self-conscious. It was that look on her face, that tone of voice, he didn't like it. He recognised what it was, it was the look and sound of disappointment. "Fine," he quickly acquiesced, another idea had sprung to mind. He let go of Gatō's suit and instead grabbed him by the hair as he moved to stand behind him.

"Rezano, come here."  
"Why?" he asked suspiciously. "Come here," he repeated. Despite his misgivings he slowly, cautiously walked towards Tri, coming to a stop a few feet in front of him. A kunai appeared in Tri's hand, he cast it to Rezano who effortlessly plucked it from the air. With he a raised eyebrow he asked, "What am I supposed to do with this?"  
"It's time you used a kunai for its true purpose. Kill him," he ordered pointing at Gatō with his spare hand.

Truth be told, Tri was testing him, whether he actually killed Gatō or not didn't bother him. He knew Rezano had this innocent naivety about him that was ingrained into his mindset, he was far too trusting, far too forgiving. These traits contradicted the generations of conditioning that left Shinobi near universally mistrusting of others with a different emblem etched onto their Hitai-ate.

Tri had been concerned for some time now that this mindset would get Rezano or those he served with seriously injured or outright killed. He believed Rezano lacked a ruthless streak, something given his status as a Jinchuriki he would need.

But this would also test his conviction, how long was he willing to stand by his principals? He preferred talking his way out of situations, to his credit he was pretty good at it, but there would come a day he encountered someone he couldn't talk down and right now he wasn't ready for that day.

Tri had read his file, he knew Rezano still hadn't been blooded, it wasn't too great a surprise given the short time he'd been a Genin. But due to Tou-san's raising of the minimum age for Academy attendance he was already three years older than Tri and Naruto had been when they'd taken their first lives.

"Why me? You seemed more than happy to bludgeon him to death with just your fist."  
"While that's true, I'm telling you to do it."  
"That didn't answer the question, why me?"  
"Because I don't think you've got it in you to kill." That made him wince slightly, "And if I say no?"  
"Rezano… I gave you an order." He winced again.

"But you aren't my CO."  
"Irrelevant, I outrank Kakashi." He seemed to upsetting Rezano a little now, which was intentional. "Are you all this heartless in ANBU?" he emotionally shot back. "Yes, it's sort of a pre-requisite. We do what others in Konoha cannot."  
"Look, Rezano, you know who this is. I can assure you that his death will make the world a better place. You've seen what's become of the people of this island, the hopeless destitute they live in because of him, the friends and family whose lives were stolen because of him. You've seen first-hand the damage done to Tsunami's son.

"His crimes include murder, kidnapping, extortion, fraud, theft, blackmail, bribing officials, assassinations and who knows what else. And wasn't it you just last night who wanted to help the people of this island get rid of him? Well here's your chance."

"What is Tri doing?" Sakura quietly hissed to Kakashi, "He's just going to confuse Rezano."  
"That's exactly what he's going for. He wants Rezano to act on instinct and not think about it. You know what your first kill is like, you didn't think much doing it, did you?" She shook her head.

Perhaps it was because Gatō was helpless and completely unable able to defend himself but Rezano still looked highly conflicted, rolling the kunai around in his fingers. "Well, what's it to be?" That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as the look in his eyes steeled.

He threw the kunai to the ground, "Do it yourself," he said before stomping off. No reaction, no call to wait, just a quiet sigh as another kunai appeared in his left hand. Jamming the tip into the right side of Gatō's neck Tri opened him up from ear to ear. He kicked him away as the blood freely spewed out.

He picked up the first kunai and wiped the blood from the second and sealed them both away. Looking at his left hand, it was covered in a layer of blood. Wiping the blood away revealed the bruising on his knuckles. ' _Maybe I should learn some rudimentary medical Ninjutsu because I doubt Sakura's all that interested in taking a look at my hand right now judging from the look she gave me._ '

The battle was now over. The body count was high, collectively perhaps a hundred people had died today. On the opposing side the prominent names were Haku, Ameyuri Ringo and Gatō, in return they had lost Kusuri.

"How are you doing Kakashi?"  
"I'm good," he replied, that blasted book was already back in his hand, "Thankfully Zabuza's oversized butter knife only left me with a single cut and that was because I let him."  
"Hang on, you let me?" Zabuza questioned, he'd walked over just a few steps behind Tri. "Oh, so that's how your puppies found me" he quickly added upon realising. "Yep, they homed in on my blood on your sword."  
"Huh, I'll have to remember that."

"And are you feeling alright?" Kakashi asked him, curious as to the rather polite tone he was taking with him. "Yeah, the dog bites sting though but they seemed to have stopped bleeding. Nice job on Gatō kid, I'd have gone for the death by a thousand cuts approach before beheading him myself but I can't argue your choice."

"Well I'm going to need the head so knock yourself out." He held his hand up, "Say no more," he left with a big grin.

"And how are you, Tri?" Kakashi asked as if became just them. Rezano was with his teammates and Sakura had returned to Kusuri. "Feeling distinctly unsatisfied, I thought killing him would feel much more satisfying that it was. I thought I'd be happy to finally kill him but I don't, I don't feel – well, anything."  
"Good," Kakashi said, his eyes not leaving the page. "Good? Why good?"  
"Because that kill was very personal to you and it was a very violent death. But you got no enjoyment out of it. If you had then what is there separating you from the likes of Ringo?" He stood there for what must have been several minutes but felt longer, neither he nor Kakashi said anything as he mulled over his words, both perfectly content to stand in silence.

Eventually he walked away, a thoughtful expression on his face.

He walked over to and gently placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. She held one of Kusuri's hands in her own, in spite of the violent end she met, the look on her face was peaceful. Ignoring the pool of blood he knelt down on the other side of Kusuri's body. In his hand a narrow, wide scroll appeared, he unrolled it and placed it over Kusuri's chest. The inside had a single circular design inked onto the paper.

"Tri, could I seal her away please?"  
"Of course. Place your index and middle fingers on the centre of the array pointing towards Kusuri's face. When you're ready, turn them 90° counter-clockwise whilst applying chakra," he guided her. Sakura tearfully succeeded in sealing her friend's body away for transport back home. When the seal activated it gave off a cloud of smoke and when it cleared the scroll had rolled itself shut to prevent the Fūinjutsu from being damaged.

"Do you want to carry her?" he asked picking up the scroll. She gave him a nod so gently placed it in her outstretched hand. "Suppose I'd best clear up this mess," he quietly said to himself standing.

A half dozen clones appeared around him, "Clear an area of flammable material and place the bodies in an incinerator," he instructed them. "Yes boss," they replied before setting to work.

Since Tri's arrival and removal of the fog a crowd had been gathering on the hill separating the town from the bridge and right now news was beginning to travel through them that Gatō was dead. None came down from the high ground, they all stayed put, not exactly sure how to react.

On one hand Gatō's reign of terror was ended, but so many of their friends, family and neighbours had died under his domination of the island and now a foreign Shinobi had died aiding in his downfall. It made for restrained celebration and mixed feelings.

It wasn't until Tri's clones were busy at work that the first and second persons descended from the hill. A worried Tsunami with Inari at her side bolted for Tazuna. The elderly man hadn't really moved throughout the entire engagement, he'd just stood there and could only listen to the sounds of combat as the fog had rendered it impossible for him to see anything.

The three family members came together in a big hug, a tearful Tsunami just glad her father was safe.

Meanwhile Zabuza held out the severed head of Gatō, "The grin on your face is concerning, Zabuza," Tri said dryly. The head was quickly put into another storage scroll. "Whad'ya need the head for?"  
"Proof that he's dead."  
"Ah, bounty," he said in understanding. "Not too much I hope," he laughed. "A million," Tri answered matter-of-factly. "Not bad for an easy kill."

1,000,000 Ryo to go along with the estimated tens of millions he'd 'liberated' from Gatō's safes, then there were the diamonds he'd have to get valued. A fair amount of that money would be put to use before he even left the island.

"So what's this great scheme of yours that Kakashi mentioned?" Zabuza asked. Tri turned to face him, "We'll go over it in greater detail tomorrow or someday soon, but to summarise, I need a pair of eyes and ears in Kirigakure. You want rid of Yagura, which I've no problem with and I happen to know who's leading the growing resistance against him."  
"Resistance?"  
"Yes, the anti-Kekkai Genkai rhetoric had shifted to full-blown purges, when those loyal to him get their hands on anyone with a blood limit they kill them. As you can imagine, I, possessing both a Dojutsu and a Kekkai Genkai don't much appreciate his actions. So I wouldn't sympathise for him in the slightest if he were to be, say – overthrown," he finished, a wry grin on his lips.

"So you get me as a spy out of this?" he asked with more than a hint of suspicion. "No, I wouldn't say a spy per say. I am not interested in every little secret hiding behind every tree. I just want to know what's happening. You'd simply be keeping me abreast of what the hell is going on across those innumerable islands you call home."  
"Do I get paid for this?" he grinned, "The only reason I tolerated Gatō was so I could amass money to attempt another coup."  
"In a sense, yes. When financing is required, something can be arranged," he answered throwing a small storage scroll at him. "What's this? Money?"  
"Yeah, not sure how much though, but probably a few hundred thousand Ryo at least. That should look after you for a while, right?"  
"Uh yeah, I-I guess," he said sheepishly.

"What do you want to do with Haku's body?" Tri asked changing the subject. Zabuza quickly put the scroll away before answering, "I think it would be best to bury her here on the island. Kiri was never really a home for her since she was so young when her parents died. She loved walking through the trees so maybe somewhere in the forest would be best."  
"Sure. But there's one more body we need to deal with."  
"Ameyuri," Zabuza said. "Yes. I'm not clued in on the customs involved with the death of one of the seven. I don't know whether you cremate them or bury or what."  
"I would side with burial, there's never been anything specific in regards to the funerals of members of the Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū. But her name carried an air of respect in Kiri, she was so young when she became a member. There's no shortcut to becoming one of the seven, you have to do it on merit."

"On another note, you know how the swords are normally transferred right?"  
"I am," Tri replied.  
"And how's that?" Sakura queried joining them, she not so subtly made sure Tri was between her and Zabuza, Shinobi were slow to trust after all. "The weapons of the Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū are almost always passed down via right of conquest."  
"Meaning?"  
"Meaning that by right, Kiba now belongs to you." Sakura's eyes widened at Zabuza's words. As he spoke Tri retrieved the twin blades, one still covered in a red sheen.

"Tri here got Nuibari through right of combat and now you have Kiba."  
"And you by all accounts were given Kubikiribōchō," Tri snickered. The Kiri born Nin gave him a stern glare, "Yes. Ironically Yagura asked me to take up this great big thing after he himself had killed the previous wielder," he said patting the hilt of his weapon. "That whole affair was weird."

"How so?" Tri asked curiously as he began cleaning Kiba. "Jūzō Biwa, Kubikiribōchō's previous holder randomly turned up outside Kiri one day doing Kami only knows what, and he's wearing this body-length black cloak with red clouds on it."  
"Black cloak, with…"  
"Red clouds," Zabuza repeated. "Was it just him, or was anyone else with him?"  
"Yagura did mention someone wearing a face mask like Kakashi's but they took off pretty quickly before anyone could get a good look at him."

Before they could discuss further Sakura butted back in, "So what the hell am I supposed to do with these? I don't even use swords."  
"Neither does he," Zabuza retorted pointing at Tri.

"No one is asking you to use them, Sakura. But if you ever find yourself in a tight spot with Kirigakure then you'd have a bargaining chip in Kiba. Keep in mind you'll end up in their Bingo Book eventually, I don't know how they find out but they do."  
"You'll begin to develop a reputation too," Zabuza picked up, "I'd prefer it if you held on to Kiba though. I can imagine Yagura having an aneurysm when he finds out two of the seven swords are now held by a Konoha Shinobi," he chuckled.

She relented, "Do you have a spare scroll you don't mind parting with Tri?" It seemed he'd beaten her to it, in the midst of asking him he sealed the now clean blades away and handed the scroll to her.

"Boss," a clone spoke, Tri turned his attention to it, "We've finished." With a nod from Tri all six dispelled.

They had been busy. One had used Tri's fairly basic knowledge of Doton Jutsu to create a square hole in the ground. The bodies were quickly piled in and then a roof placed over the top with a chimney. There was also a narrow diagonal shaft coming out from one end that would serve as the input. The clones had created a rudimentary incinerator as requested.

He moved to in front of the diagonal shaft and took a deep breath, " **Shakuton: Hibana Hi** ," (Scorch Release: Spark Torch). He breathed out but unlike the rest of Tri's Shakuton techniques it didn't come with a great release of flame. This time it was a jet of superheated air aimed down the shaft, it forced all the colder air up out of the chimney.

He brought his left hand close to the stream and clicked his fingers, the air instantly ignited into a blue-white stream of flame. Inside the temperature skyrocketed quickly surpassing the 1000°C barrier. The fire quickly burned away what clothes they were wearing and rapidly moved onto consuming their bodies, flesh and bone were turned into ash. Most of which remained within the cavity in the ground but some shot out of the chimney in small black clouds that were carried away on the wind.

A few minutes later he ceased, immediately jumping back from the shaft before the heat came shooting back up it. He sat down and breathed heavily for a few seconds before looking directly upwards, a small fountain of water shot from his mouth and fell back on top of him covering his face and hair. "Fuck, that feels a whole lot better," he croaked.

"You ok?" a once again conscious Meshikamaru asked him, her two teammates either side of her. He turned to her, his face a bright shade of red, the look of someone overheating. "Yeah, I'm alright. Doing that for that long really dries my throat out a lot and spikes my body temperature. I just need to cool down again. You three doing alright?"  
"Seem to be, Sakura knows her stuff."  
"That she does, Tsunade-sama was very happy to have her and who better to spot a prospective medic."  
"Are you not going to need Sakura to look at you as well?" Tri's eyes flickered to her for a fraction of a second, "Nah, I'll be alright," he said standing again.

"We're done here," Kakashi declared as he lifted Haku's body off the ground. Zabuza had his sword on one shoulder and Ameyuri's body over the other. Tazuna and his family were still huddled together and to a lesser extent so were Kakashi's Genin.

"Tri. Aren't you forgetting something," Sakura asked him. He came to a stop, "Yes I am, thank you." He walked back to his makeshift incinerator and remoulded the ground back to its normal shape, the ash buried beneath. He turned back around and instinctively snatched something out of the air heading straight for his face. Looking at it in his hand he realised it was his ANBU mask. "Oh, thank you, Sakura."

-(*)-

 **Back in Konoha**

"What are basing this off of, Itachi?" Minato asked. Team Ro had returned the late last night. "I'm afraid it's nothing more than gut instinct Hokage-sama."  
"Hmm, I've never known you to not have good instincts but this is markedly different for you."  
"Agreed, Hokage-sama. I can't quite explain it but there was something in the air up there. I've never seen my team look so jumpy, they were on edge at the slightest noise and they had trouble sleeping.

"And their insistence that we take a really elongated route back home only further reinforced it. They constantly looked over their shoulder worried that someone would be there every time they did. A normal 15-20 hour travel time took us days."

Minato knew Itachi was not one to embellish in anything, much less than during a mission debrief so what he was hearing right now was a concern. Orochimaru was up to something and it seemed to involve the building of his own hidden village, at least that was the serious impression they got from what was going on to the north.

It was further reinforced by the item Team Ro had retrieved by sheer chance after running into a pair of Nin on their return to Konoha. On his desk sat a Hitai-ate, etched onto the metal plate was a symbol you only saw on musical score sheet, it was a musical note. After they were done here he would place it in a vault only he had access to until he brought it up at a future meeting.

"I may have to reassign some of Tri-kun's and Jiraiya-sensei's intelligence assets to investigate this further," he sighed. "While it will likely frustrate Tri-kun to have to reassign them again, I too believe it would be best. There are still too many unknowns about this Akatsuki and Orochimaru is a known, credible threat."

"Ok Itachi, I think that'll be all for today, you're dismissed. Team Ro can have the rest of the week off."  
"Understood Hokage-sama – and thank you," he replied before vanishing.

Minato put his head in his hands and let out a heavy sigh. ' _If this is truly the work of Orochimaru, amassing an army to rival a minor hidden village then we must take precautions._ '

"ANBU," he called, the masked figure that was always present in his office with him appeared before him on one knee, "Hokage-sama?"  
"Bring my ANBU Commanders to me, all of them," he ordered. The ANBU's head lifted up a little in surprise. "Hai, Hokage-sama," they replied a moment later than usual.

-(*)-

 **Back in Nami no Kuni**

"I don't know what the customs are in Kiri, but do you wanna say anything?" Tri asked a quiet Zabuza who quickly shook his head, "No," he answered before darkly chuckling. "She'd spit feathers if she knew someone spoke for her at her own funeral. I don't think there was even a single person in her life she could have called a friend – even as a child."

Ringo's grave would only be marked by a simple wooden marker, her name was not etched into it, in fact it was totally devoid of detailing but for one thing. The four small diagonal, curvy lines that formed the Hitai-ate emblem of Kirigakure. They had buried her real Hitai-ate with her.

Tri and Zabuza had spent several hours looking for an appropriate spot, the others had declined to accompany them. They didn't want it somewhere it could be stumbled across by the island's inhabitants. Eventually they settled for a grassy outcrop atop a small hill that overlooked the eastern shore. It actually made for a very pleasant view.

The grass had since been cut back to make way for the simple grave they'd dug. In time the grass would grow back and cover the gravesite. It would afford Ameyuri's resting place some privacy.

"When do you want to bury Haku?"  
"This took quite a bit longer than I was expecting, it'll have to wait till tomorrow now, the sun will probably be setting by the time we get back."

-(*)-

Rezano fidgeted with his hands under the table, a bowl of rice sat relatively untouched in front of him. The events of the morning had left him decidedly lacking an appetite, didn't seem to stop Kakashi, however, who's bowl was long empty. Although he couldn't figure out when, Kakashi always wore that mask and the food only seemed to vanish when no one was looking.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Kakashi asked even though his eye never lifted from the pages of his dirty book. Rezano leaned back in his chair and sighed, "Well Sensei, can you explain why my brother is trying to turn me into a killer?"  
"Yes," was his blunt response, Rezano flinched a little having expected words that were more understanding. Kakashi took his nervous look as permission to explain.

"You have a strong personal ideology, Rezano, you always go for diplomacy first. But there are some for whom words won't get through to, Gatō is – was such an individual. You need to come to terms with the fact that it's kill or be killed more often than we'd like as a Shinobi. And if you can't kill then you'd best prepare yourself to get killed."

Rezano noticeably winced at his Sensei's harsh words. "I'm your Jōnin-sensei, Rezano. I'm not an Academy teacher, there's very little hand-holding out here."  
"I'm not going to change who I am," he stubbornly stated. "Then you'd best find a balance real quick or you'd be better off finding a new profession.

Kakashi sharply exhaled before snapping his book shut. "Look, I know you don't like being compared to your brothers but both were younger than you when they became Genin and I know for a fact that it was about six months into their Genin careers that they were blooded."  
"Blooded?" His lack of understanding perking his curiosity. "It's what we say to describe a Shinobi whose made their first kill."  
"Oh," he muttered, the curiosity draining away.

"I don't know whether you still harbour ambitions of one day being Hokage but just to get to Jōnin you need to be desensitized to killing completely." The teenager's head dipped a little, "Do you think I should have killed him?"  
"Yes. You were presented with a rare opportunity, the chance to make your first kill without your own life being threatened."  
"You'd didn't have to think about that much, did you?"  
"You shouldn't put much thought into killing, it's easy to overthink and convince yourself not to. It might be best if you discuss this with Tri at some point," he advised before opening his book once again.

Rezano audibly exhaled, again staring at the bowl of rice, his appetite was still absent.

-(*)-

Sakura just stared blankly into the sky, whether it was blue sky, the white clouds or the brown and green of the branches and leaves of the nearby tree blown into her field of vision by the wind – none of it registered. Almost as soon as they'd returned that morning she'd wandered off aimlessly in a sombre daze. Unbeknownst to her she'd arrived at the same tree she'd fallen asleep under a few nights ago.

Her body laid flat on the soft ground, her hands clasped together and she'd done nothing since, she hadn't moved, hadn't spoken, just – nothing. The dimming light in the sky as the sun neared the completion of its descent in the sky was a testament to just how long she'd been there.

The sounds of footsteps squishing the soft grass underfoot didn't register. It wasn't until a hand rested on her shoulder that her mind was pulled back into the real world where her senses began functioning again.

"How are you holding up?" She slowly rolled onto her side, using her arm as a cushion of sorts, folding it under her head. She didn't give any answer, she just looked at him, her eyes vacant, the shine in her usually vibrant and alert light green eyes noticeably absent.

"Are you able to sit up?" Tri gently asked her. Again no answer but she did sit up – eventually, her body aching from the hours of inactivity. He sat behind and allowed her to lean back against him as he wrapped her in a hug, her head settling on his shoulder.

"Is this the first friend you've lost?" he sympathetically asked her, his voice barely above a whisper, a series of short, sluggish nods followed as she began to respond, he ever so slightly tightened his grip on her for those nods.

"D-Does it ever get easier?" she asked, finding her voice, it was hoarse and dejected. "I'm not really the best person to ask," he began, Tri's reaction to losing friends was normally an angry one, not a sorrowful one as you might expect. "But from what I've seen, heard and experienced, no, it does not."

Sakura sniffed loudly as she turned onto her side, her face moving into the crook of Tri's neck. Taking note of the sniff, Tri spoke again, "Sakura, if you need to cry, then do so. Bottling it up won't help."  
"I don't w-want to be a bother," she said despondently. "Why would you be a bother? Crying is normal when anyone is upset. If I couldn't handle you crying then I'd neither be here nor be a good friend, would I?"  
"N-no."  
"No, I wouldn't. So go ahead, I'm right here."

She gave a single curt nod as the first tear escaped her left eye, running down her tear troth it swept down her nose until it reached the end where it fell away landing on Tri's shirt.

Several minutes passed in a silence only broken by the occasional sniff, other than that she made no noise, the tears fell with a slow, steady pace, alternately slipping from her eyes every few seconds.

"I just d-don't know how I-I'm going to face them," she said as the tears began to slow, her voice cracking a little. "Fa-," Tri cut himself off as he remembered. Internally he sighed, ' _She's Kusuri's commanding officer. It is the responsibility of the CO to inform the next of kin should any of their subordinates die on mission. And regardless of the reassignment, she's still Kusuri's CO._ '

It was one of the responsibilities that came with higher ranks. It was something Tri hadn't had to perform nor was he likely as he so often worked solo.

"There's little harder than informing the next of kin," he said morosely, "But you don't have to do it alone," he added, tucking the hair that fell over her face back behind her ear. "What d-do you mean?" she questioned in confusion, lifting her head a little to look him in the face. He grabbed hold of his shirt sleeve and gently dabbed around her red eyes before answering.

"I'm afraid it has to be you to inform her parents but if you want, I'll go with you. While I've never had to do the informing before, I have been present for a few back in my time with the Jūnishi so I can help you through it."  
"R-really?" He gave a nod and she gave him a weak smile in return.

"I j-just wish I knew what to say."  
"What do you think you should say?" he asked, trying to get her thoughts on the matter. "I-I could tell them how brave she was. She sacrificed herself p-providing me the chance to put Ringo down," as she spoke, Tri gently squeezed the back of her neck supportively. He smiled,

"That sounds nice. Shinobi rarely get to pick the manner of their death, it so often happens in the blink of an eye. But she chose to put the wellbeing of others ahead of her own. She displayed absolute selflessness in making the ultimate sacrifice. And while it won't bring their daughter back, they can at least be proud of the young woman they raised, there can be no finer honour. And if you feel up to it, I'd like to hear about her" he paused a moment, "- I certainly can't claim to know her but she kept you safe so I want to hear all about her."

She surveyed him for a few moments before her lips curled a little into another weak smile, "Hai. Arigatou, Tri-kun," she said with a nod. "Hey, hey now, why so formal," he queried with a raised eyebrow. "Thank you, you great big softy," she retorted, toning down the formality. "That's great big softy-san to you," he countered with a mock-snobbish look on his face. Sakura lightly laughed, this time smiling fully. "There's that lovely smile," he grinned, again pushing errant hairs back behind her ear.

"Tri, you said crying is normal when your upset, right?"  
"I did."  
"Then why can I not recall ever seeing or hearing of you crying?" This time it was his turn to sigh, leaning his head on hers. "I can count the number of times I've cried during my life on one hand, and I won't need the thumb. And after what I did this morning, I think it's clear to see I don't meet the definition of normal."

"What do you mean? I presume you're talking about Gatō."  
"Yeah… What I did to him, I've never done to anyone else. Don't get me wrong I've inflicted horrific injuries beyond counting, but always with the express purpose of killing. But today was solely to cause as much pain as I could and drag it out as long as possible. While I struggle with empathy, I feel hate just fine… A-And I gave into it today."

"So what made you stop?" Another sigh, "I stopped because I saw the look on your face. It was a look that screamed disappointment. I saw that and for the first time ever, I felt self-conscious. I've never, ever concerned myself with what others thought of my actions until today, I can't say I particularly enjoyed it."

Sakura neither confirmed nor denied that her expression was one of disappointment, she didn't say anything in fact. Truth be told, she didn't know, everything from that morning was a blur, the only image that was as clear as crystal glass was Kusuri getting impaled by a sword.

"Why did you do it? What did he do to get such a reaction out of you?" A third sigh as he dragged a hand down his face. "Ok, I'll tell you but be warned, it's not a pleasant tale." She gave a small gesture of her understanding and he began.

Twenty minutes later he finished, "That poor girl," Sakura finally said, "What a nightmarish way to die. Your final hours spent in absolute terror," she added with a small shudder. "And I spent years chasing down every single one of those involved. Gatō, who financed and organised the operation was the last. They're all dead now."  
"What about the few you said were captured?"  
"Dead too, Daimyō-sama sentenced them to death shortly after. They were all hung before that day ended."  
"So it's over?" she wanted to double-check, he nodded. "You don't look too happy about it."  
"That's because I'm not, I thought I would be, but I'm not. Knowing the job was incomplete ate at me for years and now it's here I don't feel any sort of closure, I'm not quite sure how to explain it."  
"It only ended this morning. Maybe it's still too raw?" she suggested, it was something he hadn't considered. "Perhaps," he said gratefully, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Has anyone ever told you just how soft your hair is?" he said suddenly, the fingers of his left hand smoothly caressing the locks on the back of her head. "What?" she giggled, "Hmm?" he hummed in feigned ignorance, his fingers still running through the pink hair.

"Do you normally take note of how soft a ladies hair is?" she whispered in his ear. "No, not all of them. Just the good-looking ones," he replied with a completely straight face. She sat up straight so she wasn't leaning back on him, managed to force him to move back so he could lean back against the tree before she spontaneously decided to move up and sit in his lap before again leaning back against him.

He raised an eyebrow but certainly didn't stop her. "So, you think I'm beauteous do you?"  
"Ooo, that's a good adjective. And yes, yes I do. I'd question my sanity if I thought otherwise."  
"Good to know," she said with a pleased smile, trying her utmost to seem as suave as possible.

*Grumble*

Unfortunately Sakura's very much ignored stomach had other ideas as it announced its dissatisfaction vocally. Sakura tried to hide the flush of embarrassment on her face by trying to bury it in Tri's chest as Tri mirthfully tried to contain the laughter building in his throat.

Would I be right in thinking you haven't eaten?" he chuckled. Her head, still trying to dig through his ribcage, rapidly shook from side to side. "Sakura, while your hair might be soft as silk, your skull isn't and I'd rather you not break any of my ribs," he told her in mild discomfort. She shot up, back straight which allowed Tri to rub his chest, "You really need to remember how strong you are," he lightly scolded her in jest.

She playfully pouted in return. Her eyes having now regained that lustre they'd been missing earlier. They brightened further when Tri lifted a hand into her line of vision, a small stack of Sushi pieces piled atop one another.

She reached out to tentatively take them from him, it brought their fingers into contact, that's when Tri realised how cold they felt. "Sakura, are you cold again?" Her eyes widened just a little as if she'd only just noticed herself. "Uhh, yeah," she replied sheepishly. With an amused shake of the head the blanket from a few nights previous made another appearance.

"Come here," he ushered her closer. She had been facing him, but now spun 180° so her back was flush against his chest, the Sushi protectively cradled in her hands as the blanket was opened over them both and quickly tucked under limbs. "You don't have to go cold, if you are then say so."  
"Umm, would you believe me if I said I didn't realise."  
"Well, it's been that kind of day I guess," he said in resignation.

He watched on as she chomped her way through portion after portion, never once slowing. "Are you sure you aren't part Uzumaki?" he joked. "Hey! I'm hungry," she defended herself.

"Do you feel up for telling me about Kusuri?" he tentatively asked, "I understand if you aren't," he hastened to add. She continued chewing for a few seconds, swallowed then answered with a few quick nods, "But only if you keep giving me food," she added. "Well, I was going to anyway but alright."

"Yay," she quietly cheered, "But first, I wanna get more comfortable." The moment she finished speaking she started wriggling around much to Tri's bafflement as when she settled a few seconds later she'd barely moved an inch from her starting position.

"Comfy now?" he asked in exacerbation, "Very," she smiled. "Are you?"  
"Yes," he answered, "You're even lighter than you appear," he wrapped an arm around her while the other remained outside the blanket for food providing purposes. With her settled again, she regaled the story of her and Kusuri.

Her story lasted longer than his and carried a far more cheerful tone than the one Tri had told. Jokes and humorous titbits were plentiful with her having to stop more than once to work through a burst of laughter. He noticed her words slow towards the end, today had been greatly trying for her and now with the sun long since set her energy levels were dropping fast.

"Thank you, Sakura," he said appreciatively when she finished, her tale had finished with the arrival of the letter ordering their reassignment to this island. There was a weary smile on her face as she leaned back on his shoulder. "Tired?" he asked as she closed her eyes. "Hm," she mumbled. "I'll take that as a yes then. I guess you aren't going to want to move?"

"No, too tired, and I like being on top of a comfy mattress."  
"Sakura. There are so many different ways you could interpret what you just said."  
"Maybe we should act them all out?" she teased. "Please, let's not," he shuddered, "I think your mother would legitimately murder me."  
"Pfft, as if she could catch you."  
"Yeah, but she knows where I live."  
"Pity." *Yawn* "Could have been really fun," she slurred, now on the brink of falling asleep.

He shook his head as she relaxed which was a sign to him that she was now asleep. He for a moment considered the young sleeping woman. Despite what had happened today, Sakura had coped well, relatively speaking. But most importantly she had remained focused on defeating her quarry, so many Shinobi down the years had lost their cool in the midst of battle, soon to be followed by the loss of their life.

"You were magnificent today," he quietly said before closing his own eyes, he didn't see the smile appear on her lips.

* * *

End Chapter


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

* * *

 **Review Replies:**

 **aj173682** : Glad to hear you're enjoying it. I've not yet nailed down exactly what's going to be happening in the latter stages of Shippuden, but Naruto will definitely be involved in the Pain Arc. As for your second question, I'll leave that unanswered as we're closing in on the Konoha Crush.

* * *

Loose Ends

Tri's left eye slowly peaked open, a few moments ahead of his right one as it tended to do, the Sharingan allowed for faster visual perception after all. He was greeted by the makings of a rather pleasant morning, the waves slowly, almost lazily rolling onto the beach. The slightest of breezes rustling the branches above them. But something seemed off.

His eyes should have been greeted by the waves rolling in towards the shore, he'd fallen asleep with them in his direct line of sight. But instead his vision was filled with the paling leaves and dark brown wood of a tree.

Lifting his head he was quickly able to suss out what exactly had happened, but had no answer as to how it had happened. He was now laid out on the soft grass and no longer leaning back against the tree. Somehow during the night he and Sakura had apparently shifted about two to three feet away from the tree.

As for Sakura herself, she seemed to still be asleep. But was no longer curled up on top of him anymore as she had been when they'd fallen asleep, she'd slid off to his right at some point during the night. His right arm had been commandeered as a makeshift pillow while her own right arm and right leg were tightly laid across him. ' _Guess I ain't going anywhere then._ '

But after a few minutes of staring aimlessly above at the tree and sky he tried to sit up, Sakura, however, actively resisted, mumbling, "No, too early." Her grip on him tightened a little, her chest pressing into the side of his ribcage, "Oh, so you are awake," he remarked.

No answer.

He tried a second time, again she resisted, "Nooo," she groggily complained holding him in place. Deciding that wasn't going to work given her substantial strength, he changed tack. Leaning in as best he could he whispered in her ear, "Sakura-chan. I can feel your breasts against me just fine, you don't have to crush me."

It did the trick, her eyes shot open and she sat up in a flash which would have for an amusing sight as she attempted to disentangle herself from Tri. She couldn't stop the blush creeping up her face as his full statement was worked through in her mind. "Sorry, Tri," she apologised. "It's ok," he replied finally able to sit up himself, "Besides, I wasn't complaining," he naughtily whispered to her. "Shut up," she said playfully hitting him before taking a big yawn.

"That was a mighty big yawn. Did you not sleep well?" The dark bags under her eyes stood out greatly against her fair skin. "No. I kept waking up during the night and had trouble falling asleep again."  
"How come?" he asked in concern, his voice flipping from playful to serious. "My mind kept replaying Kusuri's death, those same few seconds repeating over and over." He tried to comfort her, a hand gently rubbing her back, "Things like this are to be expected, Sakura. It only happened yesterday."

"Have you ever had bad dreams like this before?" she innocently asked. "In a sense," he replied, his mind drifting to the dream he'd been having for years. Even now it was still little more than a garbled, blurred mess of sound and colour.

"At least it's a peaceful morning," Sakura said more positively. "That it is, I quite enjoy hearing the waves crash against the beach every morning. It must be fantastic here at the height of summer."  
"You think anything interesting is happening back home?" she asked, wishing to change the subject. "Probably not, the only thing I know that's happening is the diplomatic exchange with Iwa. Which means Naruto-kun's probably bored out of his mind right now."

-(*)-

 **Konoha**

"Ah! You minx!" Naruto hissed.

He was currently stood in the middle of a now rather familiar hotel room, a pair of long, strong legs wrapped around his waist with his arms under Kurotsuchi. Holding her lithe body up, they made the most of the five or so minutes they had. In the evenings they took their time, but the few minutes they stole when Naruto arrived to escort her to the Hokage tower in the mornings were fast and frantic.

And Kurotsuchi had just pulled on his earlobe a little too hard with her teeth.

"You're so aggressive in the morning Kuro-chan," he managed to say before she kissed him again. "I know, I have to make the best of the little time we have," she said after they'd broken for air, "Besides, I know you love it," she sultrily whispered to him.

With a smirk he pinched her ass in retaliation, she jumped in his arms, a surprised squeak escaping her lips bringing her neck level with Naruto's eyes. Before she settled back down he took full advantage, laying a trail of light, quick kisses along her jaw and across her neck. "Mmm," she lightly moaned at the sensations, her hands freely running through his thick hair, "Remember, no marks or love bites."

"Don't worry I didn't forget," he reassured her as he shifted his hold on her to free up an arm. He took a hold of the neck of her shirt with his index finger and thumb and slowly pulled it as far down as he could without hurting her or damaging it. Naruto was very thankful she wore something looser fitting today than the normal red turtleneck-like shirt she usually donned.

"A part of me thinks that you want me to take my shirt off," she said as he kissed as far down the exposed skin of her upper torso as her shirt would allow. He brought her back down to eye level and kissed her on the lips, "And a part of me wants to simply tear this shirt off and continue kissing down your body."  
"Mmm, that does sound exciting but I'm afraid it'll have to wait, sweetie, we've gotta go," she said as she spared a brief glance at the clock.

She unwillingly unhooked her legs from behind him but he didn't let her down and after his own brief glance at the clock saw they still had around sixty seconds or so. He carried her over to and gently set her down in the chair in front of the dressing table. Plucking up the brush from said table he began to straighten out her short hair, it had been a roaming hand of his that had messed her hair up to begin with and he would now rectify that.

"You're proving to be very useful you know," she said in approval, enjoying the bristles lightly trailing across her scalp. "Is that right? Well, if that's the case then I'll have to remember to do things like this more often then," he said before putting the brush down.

She smoothed her shirt out to minimise the chance of creases. Travelling over to the bed she picked up her pouch belt and fastened it around her waist. "Alright, we'd better go," she said. "Hang on Kuro-chan, there is one more thing."  
"Which i…" she was quickly spun around and a seriously fierce kiss planted on her lips.

Her chest was heaving when Naruto finally broke away. He'd leaned her back so she was almost horizontal, his arms around her the only thing stopping her from falling over entirely. "Wow," she breathed, "You're definitely useful to have around." He lifted her vertical once again. "Will I see you again tonight?" He nodded, "There are a few things I need to do so I'll be a little later than usual but I'll be here," he answered picking up the scroll.

"Ok," she smiled. A quick peck on the lips and they were out the door.

-(*)-

"Yeah, completely bored," Tri repeated with confidence.

"I supposed we'd best get back before the others come looking for us," Sakura sighed as she stood. With a sigh of his own Tri replied," I suppose you're right. Hell knows how we're going to pass the time until the bridge is finished. We can't leave until it is."  
"I'll take the monotony of having little to do over fighting for our lives."  
"That's true," he conceded accepting her hand so she could pull him to his feet.

She knelt down to pick up the blanket, she folding it up before handing it to him. With a small nod of thanks he sealed it away.

Before she could walk away he pulled her into another hug. "If you ever need someone to talk to, then I'm happy to listen. But if I'm not available then there are always the Yamanaka councillors you can go see." She gave a slow nod as he released her. "Come on then, let's go," he gently encouraged.

-(*)-

"Zabuza, there's something, or rather someone I wanted to ask you about, if you're willing," Tri said across the kitchen table. The man who not twenty-four hours ago had been the enemy lifted his head and stared back. "And pray tell, who might that be?"  
"He's a former Kiri Nin and I guess is still, technically, a member of the Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū, Hoshigaki Kisame."

Zabuza, who had been in the midst of depositing another clump of rice into his mouth froze briefly and studied the Shinobi across from him. "And why would you want to know about the Kirigakure no Kaijin?" he inquired as Kakashi, Sakura and Meshikamaru, all of whom had heard of Kisame listened in with interest.

"Because I've now run into, for one reason or another, the wielders of three of the seven swords of Kirigakure. And I can't help but shake the feeling that I'm gonna run into Kisame one day and if I can't run then…" he trailed off. "What was it specifically you were interested in?"  
"Abilities, strengths, weaknesses, combat style, anything I can use to delay until I can withdraw or force a stalemate."

Sasuke snorted, "What's the matter? You sound like you're scared of him." Tri levelled an unimpressed look the young Uchiha's way, "Fear? No. But bluntly put, as things stand, Kisame would likely kill me in a straight up fight. He's an S-rank missing-nin for a reason."  
"What does S-rank mean?" Tazuna curiously asked.

"It's a grading system used to measure the threat level of a Shinobi. It goes from C-Rank to S-Rank with C being the lowest and S being the highest," Kakashi explained. "The Genin here are all C-Rank as they're only six months out of the academy while Kakashi and Zabuza are both A-Rank. Sakura I'd say is B-Rank, perhaps a year or two from obtaining an A-ranking," Tri added.

"You forgot yourself Tri, you're an A-Rank too," Kakashi said, "there's even a few who suggest you should be S-rank." The Uzumaki shrugged his shoulders as the Genin gave him a shocked look, Zabuza was also giving him a weird look, it almost looked like respect but he couldn't be sure.

"Alright, I'll fill you in, but only if you hand over the details," the wide grin on his face revealing his sharpened teeth. Tri grinned back and slid a thin folder across the table, "I said I would," he reminded Zabuza as he picked it up and opened it.

Inside was a colour photograph and a single sheet of paper covered in locations, names and a various assortment of other details. "Oh, of course," Zabuza laughed as he recognised the face in the photo, it featured a beautiful woman with a single visible green eye, the other hidden behind a bang of her long auburn red hair.

"You recognise her I take it?"  
"Yeah, Terumī Mei. A name and face I've not seen in some years, I really shouldn't be surprised it's someone like her."  
"From what I've been able to gather, which admittedly isn't as much as I'd like, is that she's been building a following for a few years now with the end goal of ridding Kiri of Yagura. And apparently has, by all accounts, met with some success."  
"Again, can't say I'm surprised, Yagura has alienated a good number of people over the years. Alright, I'm satisfied. So, Kisame."

Tri was a little surprised he'd been satiated so quickly but happily indicated he should start. "Quite simply, Kisame lives up to his nickname, he is a true monster of a Shinobi. Utterly without mercy and with chakra reserves that would make you Uzumaki's blush. I'm yet to encounter anyone who has more than him. But don't let his savagery and borderline sadism deceive you, he is a smart, cunning individual with a keen eye and perceptive mind.

"He is a master of Suiton Jutsu, capable of expelling quantities of water to rival lakes from his mouth in moments and has a fondness for sharks, there was talk of him even having a shark summon but I've never seen it. Beyond Suiton he is capable in two or three other natures, but he rarely uses them, his Suiton has always been sufficient for simply overwhelming everyone he comes across.

"And we've only talked about the man himself, he carries the greatest of the seven swords, a weapon with a mind of its own that you have to both force your will upon and have it accept you lest it drain your chakra entirely, Samehada (Sharkskin). The slightest contact with it will see your chakra pulled from you. Furthermore Samehada can use the chakra stored within itself to heal it wielder making Kisame stupidly hard to kill.

"As for his combat style…" Zabuza paused a moment to think on it. "I'd say his use of Samehada and high impact Suiton Jutsu in tandem are enough to beat pretty much anybody. A battle of attrition won't work because he has so much chakra and Samehada will have opportunities to steal yours. As for beating him, Genjutsu is probably your best bet but only if you can separate him from that sword.

To be frank you'd be best copying my idea. 'If you see him, turn around and walk the other way.' Is that the sort of info you were looking for?"  
"Yeah, it's something to start in, my thanks, Zabuza." As Tri replied, Zabuza rose to his feet, "Good. Now I'm going to go bury Haku, if any of you care to join me."  
"I'll go," Tri said, "And from the looks of it, so does Rezano," the teenager nodding vigorously, a strange site given the sombre look on his face.

The others all declined to join them so it just left the three of them, Zabuza left Kubikiribōchō in the questionably lax care of Kakashi before setting off, Haku's body held in his arms.

The opening minutes of their trek passed quietly as they meandered through the endless trees that covered most of the island, only the rustling of branches in the wind and the chirping of birds in their nests reached their ears.

"How's your girlfriend?" Tri suddenly asked, utterly blindsiding Rezano, the reaction clear to see on his face as he blushed. "S-she's not my girlfriend, Nii-san," he quietly said, his voice seemingly a mix of equal parts embarrassment and disappointment. ' _He knew who I was referring to though,_ ' Tri mentally chuckled.

"She isn't? What the hell are you waiting for?"  
"Just because she's one of my closest friends doesn't mean she sees me as anything more than that." ' _That sounded like frustration this time. Let's see if I can't drag a few answers out of him._ '

"Oh Kami, please save me from the naivety of teenagers," he bemoaned with a facepalm, he made sure to overplay it to ridiculous levels. "Come now Rezano, you're a smart kid. Surely! Surely you've noticed the way she acts around you." Rezano cast a quick glance at a clearly listening Zabuza before looking back at Tri. "Ignore Zabuza," Tri reassured him, "He'll keep his trap shut, won't you?"  
"Mmm," was his mumbled reply. "See, not a word. Now spill," Tri smirked.

"Umm, she does that thing where she pokes the tips of her fingers together whenever she talks to me. Are those the kind of things you're talking about?" Tri gave him a big nod, "Yeah, those are the kind of things. Now this finger poking, does she do it when speaking to anyone else?" Rezano took a few moments to comb his memories, "No, or at least I don't think so" he came back.

"Ok, can you think of anything else she does?"  
"Um, she seems to speak much quieter when she's speaking directly to me or if she knows I'm within earshot."  
"What do you mean by quieter?"  
"I've seen her during some of her sessions with Naruto-kun and she spoke louder and more… I dunno how to put it."  
"More confidently?" he suggested trying to guide him. "Yeah," he quickly agreed, "it seemed much easier for her. But when I showed myself she went quieter again."

"Hmm. Can you think of any others?"  
"There is one more."  
"And what's that?"  
"Again, it was during one of Naruto's lessons with her. She'd been trying to get this new move combination down, she'd spent hours on it. It was just me and Naruto watching her. And then she got it, she's one of my dearest friends so I went and gave her a congratulatory hug – as you do."  
"As you do," Tri agreed.

"Right, it was just after I'd let go that I realised her face had gone bright red. Before I could ask why, she shot off. I guess she went home, I don't really know. But whenever she saw me for like a week her face would go red again. I don't think I did anything wrong, did I?" Tri shook his head, "Trust me Otouto, you didn't do anything wrong."  
"That's what Naruto-kun said as well."  
"You've talked to him about this too?"  
"A little."

' _Seems it isn't just me who's noticed then. Although it's not exactly hard to miss.'_ "What do you think I should do Nii-san?" Tri puffed out his cheeks, "That's not really a question I can fully answer. So let me ask you; What do you think you should do?"  
"I…I don't know," he said glumly. He got a supportive hand on the back of his neck, "I'm not surprised and before you start, I wasn't expecting you to be able to answer, you're still young after all."

"But what I can do is give you a few words of advice," he said offering an olive branch. "Be honest with her, don't lie and just tell her how you feel."  
"Huh? Tell her how I feel?" he questioned in confusion, then it clicked, his eyes widened. "B-But I never…" Tri burst out laughing, "You didn't need to Otouto, it was written all over your face. Notice how I never once said which young lady I was referring to." That made Rezano blush again.

"Hey now, nothing to be embarrassed about. Just make sure you're ready to catch her when you tell her." Zabuza snorted while Rezano found himself again confused, "I don't get it."  
"Well think about it, she blushed bright red just from you hugging her. You tell her that you fancy her and she might faint on the spot. Best find a nice patch of long grass just in case you miss her."  
"Nii-san!" he exclaimed playfully pushing him away.

It resulted in an on/ off pushing match that lasted several minutes.

"Zabuza, have you seen anywhere you think Haku would have liked?" Tri asked while giving Rezano a nuggie. He'd kept quiet while the two brothers playfully pushed each other around, he knew he could trust both to be serious when the time came. "Not quite, the trees around this part of the forest are fairly sparse though. That's what I'm looking for so there might be somewhere nearby that fits."

A few clones burst into existence. "Nii-san, how do you do that without making the hand-seal or speaking?" Rezano asked. "Practice my sibling, lots of practice. Oh, and supreme chakra control," he teased, flashing him a toothy grin. Rezano scowled back, his chakra reserves dwarfed even Tri's and his control suffered greatly as a result. "Git," he mumbled under his breath before forming the crossed finger hand-seal, " **Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**."

Unlike Tri's clones who appeared without a wisp of smoke, Rezano's appeared in a great cloud, the smoke was a sign of wasted chakra, the more smoke, the more chakra. "Your control needs more work, Rezano," Tri noted. "I know, I know," he heaved a sigh. "But my reserves grow as I train so it never seems to improve. I use forty-eight clones for an hour a day but it doesn't do much."

Both knew it would continue to be a source of frustration for him too. His control would certainly improve as he got older but his chakra reserves would keep growing until he'd fully matured physically. It would be another five or six years before he could fully overcome the problem entirely.

The smoke cleared to reveal Tri's six clones were surrounded by six dozen. "Tsch, show off," Tri said with a mock-sniff while Zabuza rolled his eyes at them both. "Alright Zabuza, describe what you're looking for and this rabble'll find it."  
"Ok, that'll work," he murmured in approval. "What I'm looking for is a vaguely circular clearing at least ten feet wide with no trees within its circumference. There needs to be minimal greenery on the ground, preferably short grass or a bed of wildflowers. "Got that?"  
"Hai," the small army of clones said in unison before rushing off into the surrounding forest. The real Rezano went with them, the real Tri did not.

Zabuza watched the colourfully clad Shinobi mindlessly weave through hand-seals at an astonishing pace. "You know, you're one strange person," Zabuza said after a minute. "How so?" Tri casually asked, his hands continuing to idly stream through seals. "Yesterday I watched you beat Gatō half to death with just your left hand before carving his throat open. Now here you are, not twenty-four hours later, giving your teenage sibling advice on girls."

He briefly chuckled, "Speak for yourself. Not twenty-four hours ago I watched you chop a few dozen people into a pile of screaming limbs with nothing but an honest grin on your face. And now, here you are, seeking the perfect burial site for your deceased friend and comrade."

Zabuza glared at him, his eyes narrowing slightly, "Touché," he conceded, "Perhaps we live in a strange world?"  
"That we do Zabuza, that we do."

-(*)-

"Does anybody want to say anything?" Tri quietly asked them as Zabuza climbed out of the rectangular grave he'd just placed Haku's body in.

The battalion of clones had taken around half an hour to find something resembling Zabuza's description but it wasn't quite enough. So they'd returned to searching and thankfully twenty minutes later they found somewhere the Missing-Nin was happy with.

"I will, if you don't mind," Rezano said with no small amount of apprehension, Zabuza's curt nod reassured him somewhat as he stepped forward to kneel at the edge of the grave. "I certainly can't claim to have known you for long, nor can I claim to have known you well, hardly at all in fact. But still, in the short time I did, it was profoundly clear how much you cared for those you referred to as your 'special people'.

"So much so that you willingly gave your life to safeguard one of them. And I am certain that if I become half as dedicated a person you were then I'll have become a fine person indeed."

Rezano stood once more, wiping away an errant tear with the back of his fingers as it threatened to streak down his cheek, his piece now said. "Thanks kid," Zabuza said in a rare moment of emotion, "You're welcome," he responded with a small smile on his face.

Zabuza had remained at the edge of the grave having never backed away, his arms hung limply by his side as he stared down at the face of perhaps his only ever friend. "Do you want some privacy?" Tri asked when Zabuza didn't say anything. "If you wouldn't mind," he quietly answered, more emotion leaking into his voice. "Of course not. Do you remember the way back to the house from here?" He nodded.

"Alright, the shovels over there when you're ready." Zabuza had politely refused Tri's earlier offer to create the grave using Doton and had instead dug it himself with the shovel. With a hand on the back of Rezano's neck he led them both away.

Rezano waited until they were well out of earshot before speaking, "You know. Zabuza's not that bad."  
"How do you mean?"  
"Well, he's not too different from us. He likes and dislikes things and people, just like we do. He just happens to dislike more than he likes.

"He was clearly sad to lose Haku, he just hid it really well," he continued. Tri nodded his agreement, "You missed it yesterday but the first thing Gatō did after showing up yesterday was mock Haku's death. That proved to me that he gave a damn because he turned on Gatō immediately.

"Everyone had justifications for what they do, regardless of whether they consider themselves good or evil. What decides whether they are good or evil is whether you can justify the cost afterwards.

"Zabuza only worked for Gatō because he wanted to raise money that he could use to overthrow the current Mizukage, Yagura. Now on the surface that sounds like a bad thing, right?" Rezano nodded. "But Yagura is currently in the midst of leading a countywide massacre of anyone who possesses a Kekkei Genkai, his justification is that they can't be trusted, that if allowed to live would seize control of Kirigakure.

"Haku was one of what is probably thousands of people in Mizu no Kuni who possessed a Kekkei Genkai. In the past I've referred to it as the 'land of a thousand Kekkei Genkai.'"  
"But if Yagura were removed then Haku might have been able to go back if she wanted, and all the other people with Kekkei Genkai would have been safer," Rezano accurately surmised. "Bingo. But in order for Zabuza to get the money from Gatō, he had to kill Tazuna-san. Now would you say that his life is worth sacrificing to get rid of Yagura?"  
"No," he immediately said shaking his head. "Why no?"  
"Because Tazuna-san sounds like a much better person than this Yagura."

"That is true and I agree with you but it's more complicated than that. Consider all the people it might have saved in Mizu no Kuni for example. Also, the money Zabuza would have gotten likely wouldn't have been enough to finance this coup of his. So he'd have to take more missions from people like Gatō. How many good men and woman like Tazuna-san would have had to have died before he had enough funding.

"And there's no guarantee that the coup would have worked. Zabuza could have found himself back at square one. So I think we can collectively conclude that Zabuza's actions are not justifiable in our eyes, but at the time they were in his. The actions taken by even the most abhorrent and evil person are justified in their eyes and those who follow them but not in ours, thus we label them as 'evil' even if their end goal actually sounds like something worthwhile.

"Do you understand?" he asked, finishing his short monologue.

"I think so. You're saying that it's never as simple as just calling someone good or bad."  
"Yeah, things are rarely as simple as they seem," he said before ruffling Rezano's bright blonde hair. "Gerroff!" he laughed pushing his hand away.

Silence fell over them for a few moments before Rezano spoke again, "So does that mean you were justified in killing Gatō yesterday?"  
"I certainly do, but that's just me. What about you? Knowing what you do now."  
"He was an awful person, I saw the evidence of that myself. He was selfish and happy to see others killed to suit his own ends. But you're killing him freed this island from him. Yes, I think you were justified."

"I'm glad you agree and yes, even if we only consider his crimes against the people of this island, I was justified in killing him. But his crimes stretch far beyond here across Hi no Kuni. It is because of one of these crimes in particular I was put on this island. As you now know, I came here solely to kill him. The Daimyō of Hi no Kuni himself ordered his death. A few years ago Gatō's financed and planned the kidnapping of the daughter of two senior politicians who'd thwarted him for years, I won't give you the details but the final few hours of that young woman's life were horrific."

"So I should have killed him yesterday?" he glumly asked. "I believe it would have been better for you long term if you had. You'd have been blooded and you'd have made the world a slightly better place. But don't dwell on it too much, it's done now and hindsight's always 20/20," he reassured him. "Yeah, me and Kakashi-sensei talked about 'being blooded' yesterday."

"Ok, take what Kakashi told you, what I've told you and what you now know about Gatō and cast yourself back to yesterday. Knowing all that, do you think you would kill Gatō? Not could, but would."  
"After everything you and Kakashi-sensei have told me – Yes, I should have. But would I have? I-I don't know."

With a hand on the shoulder Tri brought them both to a stop. "Then you've learnt something from all this, that's important. You now understand why I did what I did yesterday and you're a stronger Shinobi for it."

Rezano stepped forward and almost bowled them both other as he gave his brother a hug, "Thanks, Nii-san."  
"No problem, Otouto."

"Hey, Nii-san. You said that some people will do things that others might consider 'evil' to accomplish their goals."  
"I did."  
"Then let's say you had to do something bad to protect our family. How far would you go?" The question was innocent enough, Tri looked down into Rezano's eyes for a split second before looking away again.

He didn't answer.

-(*)-

 **Around a week later**

The week that followed while lacking the looming threat was certainly put to good use despite the reservations of some.

The Genin collectively and individually had been kept busy. They would alternate between individual training one day and aiding Tazuna in the finishing of the bridge the next.

Rezano, when he wasn't training or building had forged a quick friendship with the young Inari. The death of Gatō seemed to get through that sorrowful, stubborn, defeatist shell he'd erected around himself. That boy was gone and had been replaced by a bright-eyed, exuberant boy who had taken to following Rezano around pretty much wherever he went.

Sasuke conversely seemed to be allergic to Inari's new positive attitude but that wasn't to say he was miserable – well, not all the time. The days immediately following the battle had seen an arrogant smirk plastered on his face. Kakashi had eventually, after some tough persuasion from Tri, had a talk with his young charge where Sasuke would admit to discovering he'd awoken his Sharingan whilst battling against Haku.

Upon this discovery Sasuke's training time was split between improving his tree climbing and learning to call upon his Kekkei Genkai at will, however, they were unable to coax a second emergence of the Uchiha's legendary Dojutsu.

Meshikamaru had a far quieter time of it, able to focus all her energies on improving her water walking. By the week's end she was able to walk freely and begun jogging and jumping around. It wasn't a acrobats performance by any stretch but it meant she, along with Tri and Sakura, was well placed to enjoy watching her two teammates, who'd moved onto water walking for the last day or two, plunge through the water's surface repeatedly.

The major surprise of the week was Zabuza, the initial awkwardness soon passed as everybody grew accustomed to his presence and his sarcastic sense of humour. When not being talked through the ins and outs of Tri's intelligence network he provided the Genin with some intriguing titbits on how to improve their balancing on different surfaces. It shouldn't have come as a surprise considering his use of a heavy sword almost as long as he was tall. He even taught them some of the basics for fighting against sword users.

As for Sakura she exhibited day by day improvements as she came to terms with the loss of Kusuri, her smile began to return and her struggles to sleep faded after another two nights under the tree. But some could sense a growing anxiety as the bridge neared completion, it meant their return to Konoha was drawing closer. She was able to distract herself for the most part with the training of the Genin as well as striking up a friendship with Tsunami.

But the days of training, aiding in construction and general distractions were now at an end. The bridge, an impressive construct of wood and steel was now finished, the smile on Tazuna's face as he hammered the final nail into the final plank that formed the walkway was a special experience, a huge crowd had gathered to share in the moment. And while they had little to make it much of a celebration, that didn't stop them.

And after a late night the Shinobi were again assembled under the metal framework of the bridge, ready to bid their final farewells. Despite Tazuna's best efforts to persuade them to stay another day or two they had to decline, their mission was completed and they were now expected to return.

"Are you sure there is nothing I can do to persuade you to stay another day or two?" Tazuna tried for perhaps the fifth time that morning. "I'm afraid not Tazuna-san. There are a Chūnin Exams Konoha need to prepare for." Behind Tri, Kakashi's sudden look of surprise went unseen, the veteran Jōnin had completely forgotten about them – somehow. He hadn't put any thought into whether his team were ready. _'Well, at least I still have a few weeks to think it through._ '

"But that's not to say you won't see any of us again. I have a feeling this one will want to visit at some point," Tri said placing a hand on Rezano's shoulder.

"There is one more thing I need to do before leaving, however," Tri said stepping forward. "A few of my clones have been busy the past few days running around sorting everything out." He extended out a hand within which was a slim folder similar to the one Tri had handed to Zabuza a week earlier. "This isn't everything, the other half I left on your kitchen table as it would have been rather awkward to carry around."

"What is this?" Tazuna asked opening the folder and beginning to read the first of several sheets of very official looking paper. "The situation surrounding how your island was isolated happened because you were totally reliant on outside means for importing anything, outside means you couldn't control. I've taken action to ensure that can't happen again. So now you aren't restricted to a single way of bringing stuff to the island."

Tazuna's hands began shaking as he understood just what he was holding, Tsunami reading over his shoulder. "As you've probably noticed, that is the ownership deed to an east coast naval transport firm registered in Hi no Kuni, only one previous owner. Now you won't be entirely dependent on the bridge. I've changed the owner to the island of Nami no Kuni itself, so any future transferring of ownership would require a successful referendum and the approval of the secondary guarantor."

Tazuna flicked over a few sheets and his eyes widened as he noticed who the secondary guarantor was, "How could you possibly get them to agree to this?" he asked in amazement. "Surprisingly easy, he owes me a favour or two. He was rather annoyed to hear what happened here and more than happy to sign as guarantor."  
"T-thank you," Tazuna hoarsely said. "You're most welcome, Tazuna-san. But sadly I believe it is time for us to depart."

There were many individual goodbyes, Sakura and Tsunami, Rezano and Inari being just two of them. But it was the two youngsters who provided the impetus to jerk on the heartstrings, Tsunami unable to stop a few tears slipping down her face. In the space of a fortnight her island, her home was now free and it felt like her son had been returned to her.

Zabuza even slipped a whispered apology to Tazuna.

Finally the Shinobi turned and began to head across the brand new bridge. They got all of ten feet before they stopped. Turning, Tri called back, "You're going to have to think of a name for it you know."  
"Maybe you could name it after Kaiza?" Rezano quickly suggested. Looking down at his younger male sibling he smiled approvingly, "A fitting name, Otouto." A discussion already seemed to be underway between the islanders as they started walking again.

"I think you might have hit on a winner there, Rezano," Sakura commented. "Thanks, it certainly seemed a better choice than my first idea."  
"And that was?" Sakura asked. He held his arms up as if writing it in mid-air, "The Great Naruto Bridge." He barely finished speaking before he burst out laughing.

"Jeez, could you imagine," Tri laughed, "We never tell him either. Just let him find out some other way." Many shook their heads as the brothers snickered together, the idea seemed hilarious to them both.

Kakashi had a question of curiosity but waited until they reached the opposite end of the bridge before asking. "Tri, you mentioned you'd left something else back in Tazuna and Tsunami's kitchen, care to share what exactly?"  
"I handed over a transport company but you need money to run it and carrying large amounts of money around is incredibly tedious."  
"How much did you leave them exactly?"  
"It's not a case of what _I_ left them, but more a case of what _Gatō_ left them," he said innocently. "And…?" Kakashi said trying to get an answer out of him. "Uh, 7.5 million," he calmly said. Kakashi lowered his little book a little to look at the back of the ANBU who was currently walking in front of him. "That's an awful lot of money," his voice that same ever calm.

Tri shrugged, "As I said, it wasn't mine. To be honest a great deal of it was possibly stolen from the Islanders anyway. So think of it as me returning what was theirs with a good chunk of interest. Tazuna is probably the best person to entrust such a sum to as well. He had the drive to lead a bridge building project so making sure that money is well spent should be easy."  
"Hmm, that does seem pretty sensible," Kakashi conceded before lifting his book back up and turning the page, a light giggle soon following.

Zabuza tried and failed to suppress a shudder of disgust, it had quickly become a pet hate of his and he regretted having it explained to him. He definitely wasn't a fan of Kakashi's favourite literature.

Sakura had noticed Zabuza's display of revulsion and gave him something to help him take his mind off it, "What's your plan, Zabuza?" He took a moment to compose himself, "I'll be taking my leave of you all before long. I'm headed south a ways before crossing over to Kiri."

His statement was half true, he would indeed be returning to Mizu no Kuni but he wouldn't be finding transport to the south. In a few hours he'd double back north, cross into Kaminari no Kuni and find transport there.

Tri was walking a little ahead of their troop. He stopped for the second time and spun on the spot to face the others who themselves were brought to a stop. "I'd like to take a moment to inform you all that what Zabuza just said, as far as you're all concerned, was never said. None of you know where he's heading or what he'll be getting up to, he told none of you anything before he just upped sticks and left, understand?"

Sakura and Kakashi were the first to respond, "Hai," both said clearly understanding the firm, impassive tone of his voice. The Genin soon followed, not fully understanding. "The Hokage will be fully informed, but only him and only by me. Think of it as an introduction to keeping secrets, you'll be doing it often during your career.

"Now then, let's go home."

* * *

End Chapter


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

* * *

 **Hey all, we're back with another chapter. This will be the final upload before the 23rd/ 24th Dec but I'm hoping to have by then completed chapter 46 of this, the 1st chapter of the remaster and the first chapter of the new fic I mentioned months ago. So hopefully a triple upload, we'll see how it goes.**

 **Oh we surpassed 350 Favourites too, thank you everyone.**

 **That is all.**

* * *

Goodbyes and duties

"Tri-kun," Minato called as the young man approached the door leading out of the Hokage's office. He turned to face Minato, a look of muted surprise on his face, "Could I ask you to remain behind." A raised eyebrow was followed by a brief nod, he quickly gave a few hushed words to Sakura, the Chūnin nodding nervously before shutting the door behind her leaving just the two of them.

"Hokage-sama?" Tri inquired as he stood in front of the room's sole desk. Minato, sat back with a single raised, curious eyebrow of his own. "I said I'd help Sakura through informing Kusuri-san's parents of her death," he explained. "Ah," Minato solemnly uttered, a flicker of understanding flashing across his eyes. Memories of the day he had to inform Obito's parents of his death, it still ranked as one of the hardest things he'd ever done.

' _Kami, I miss that kid,_ ' he thought before pushing it to the back of his mind.

Minato stood from his chair and walked towards one of the rooms several large metal drawer cabinets that held seemingly endless sheets of paper which in turn held seemingly innumerable pieces of information. "I asked you to stay behind because there are a few matters I wanted to go over," he said pulling open one of the metal drawers.

"Let's start with why you, Kakashi-kun and Sakura-san were all very vague regarding the fate of Zabuza."  
"To put it simply, Hokage-sama. I have, in a sense, recruited Zabuza. I finally have a pair of eyes and ears in Mizu no Kuni. And while he is not technically a spy, he will at least keep me informed as to what's going on."

Retrieving what he sought from the cabinet he pushed it shut, a small folder now tucked under his arm. Minato had to admit, Zabuza was an impressive acquisition for Tri, despite any reservations that crept into his mind. But the fact of the matter was that getting information remotely reliable and up to date out of Kiri have proved to be an incredibly difficult task in recent years.

"You informed him of what happens if he's captured?"  
"He has been fully informed, Hokage-sama." Minato nodded in approval, it meant Zabuza was fully aware that if captured then he was on his own. After all, Konoha couldn't be seen to be meddling in the internal affairs of another hidden village. That's how wars started.

It was a strange hypocrisy, however, because every hidden village engaged in espionage, at least unofficially. The assignments were off the books and personnel wore aliases. On the surface Konoha appeared as one of the better behaved Shinobi villages, under the surface, however, was a very different story.

It made for an amusing game of cat and mouse as everyone scurried around trying to get an advantage over the other. And Konoha was one of the best, able to call on Tri, Jiraiya and as much as Tri might hate to admit it, Danzo.

"Good, any idea how long it'll be before he starts feeding you information?" Minato asked as he sat on the edge of his desk, placing the folder down next to him, Tri stared down curiously at the light-green bound folder before answering. "I'm unsure, Hokage-sama. He first needs to locate and integrate with the rebel forces, one island looks just like every other out there. He'll contact me when he's in, so until then we wait."

Folding his arms Minato answered with a mutter, "Hm, that's a fair point. I suppose it would have been wishful thinking in the extreme to expect such a quick turnaround given the circumstances. Still at the very least you have an agent of sorts in Kiri now," Minato said finally in a conciliatory tone.

And almost immediately, he wished he hadn't said 'agent'. "Indeed and speaking of agents, I presume Itachi-kun has handed you our latest findings." Minato sighed, _'Here we go again._ '

"Yes, he has and I have read it over – twice…"  
"But..." Tri interrupted. "But… What you'd provided me isn't sufficient. There was nothing that can't be explained away." He could see the spinning tomoe, a sure-fire sign of his building anger, if there was anyone that made Tri's blood boil, it was Danzo.

He quickly stood and went face to face with Tri who actually stood two to three inches taller than him. "Seriously?" Tri asked incredulously. "Yes, seriously. If you want me to act then you need to get me something absolutely concrete, something that not even his most ardent supporters can refute. Get me that and you get what you want. Until then, stop pestering me with every little thing you find in the hope it's enough. Because frankly I'm growing sick of it."

Tri may have been taller but Minato possessed a far more potent presence and he was utilising ever shred of it as he looked his adoptive son dead in the eyes.

The office's ever-present ANBU, hidden in the far corner watched on with great interest, his imagination wondering how a clash between the two Shinobi before him would turn out, ' _How long might the adopted one last?_ ' he wondered. He'd been paying particular attention ever since the room emptied to just father and son. And while it didn't personally interest him, he had a feeling the contents of this discussion would be of great interest to the man who place the seal on his tongue.

"We are not going to argue over this – again, I've already had this 'discussion' with Itachi in recent days and frankly I don't wanna hear it anymore. So until you bring me absolute proof then drop it!" Tri knew he would never come out of this well is he persisted, so he backed down. Screwing his eyes shut he took a single step back, his face contorting as he fought to rein his emotions in. A few moments later his facial features relaxed and the neutral façade returned. "As you wish, Hokage-sama." If his face was neutral, his voice was anything but, it was cold.

Minato mentally sighed, he disliked having to 'slap down' his Shinobi, much less members of his own family, but sometimes it was necessary. He turned to retrieve the folder he'd placed on the desk and handed it to Tri.

As he opened it Minato spoke as if nothing had happened, "I also wanted to quickly brief you on your role in the upcoming Chūnin Exams."  
"I'm to have a role?" Tri asked, a little warmth slipping back into his voice as his sudden interest dulled his acrimony. "You are. I'll go into greater detail during the full brief a few days before the Exams begin. But I want you to proctor the third exam."  
"You wish me to oversee the tournament finals?"  
"I do. I had originally intended Genma to perform this but my personal guard will be expected by my side for the sake of appearances."

As Minato spoke, Tri skimmed through the papers held within the folder. "Do you require me to organise or plot out the exam in any way?" he asked as he continued to read. "No, organisationally it will be the same as the finals of your Chūnin Exams, a one on one elimination tournament. Although I'd prefer to not have to replace every window within a hundred feet as the Raikage had to after your and Itachi-kun's match," he chuckled, Tri didn't laugh with him.

"It says there is to be a preliminary before the third exam?"  
"Yes, as things stand this is set to be the largest attended Chūnin Exams for many years, certainly the largest I can remember. Four major villages and a smattering of minors are sending Genin teams. And due to what we've planned for the first and second exams, a maximum of twenty will reach the preliminaries but we only want ten for the finals."  
"Ten? But that's going to leave you with five in the second round."  
"Three of the five will be randomly selected to participate in a triple threat. This also allows for someone to withdraw if needed without messing with the number of matches too much."

Tri nodded his understanding, his and Itachi's double knock-out had left their Exams without a final, the second semi-final between Naruto and Kurotsuchi had to take its place. "And there is one more thing. You're my standby proctor for those preliminaries."  
"How come?"  
"Because I have selected Hayate-kun to oversee them."  
"Ah, I see."

Hayate was a Shinobi not unknown to him, Naruto knew him better but he'd met him a few times so he knew of his ailments. Hayate had been born with a weakened immune system that left him highly susceptible to illness, most notably was his ever-present cough and pasty white skin. But despite his ill health he had become a renowned swordsman, had risen to the rank of Tokubetsu Jōnin and was a well-respected Shinobi in Konoha.

"And until the completion of the second exams and preliminaries you are to remain in the village." Minato immediately raised a hand to stop Tri whom was on the verge of interrupting, "But I will allow you to return to the capital to inform the Daimyō of your success." A little look of relief passed over Tri's face at that one allowance. "So no missions, but no sealing yourself away pouring over that seal on your wall, the first Genin teams will begin arriving in a week or two and with there being so many I want to project as much 'hard power' as possible to keep them in line.

Again Tri found himself curious, such public militaristic displays were very unlike his father especially since such displays were unnecessary simply due to his, the Hokage's, presence and because Konoha and Hi no Kuni were widely regarded as the most prominent economic power in the elemental nations.

"A bit out of character for you, might I inquire as to why?" Minato approached him and whispered into his ear a quick summary of what Itachi and Team Ro found to Hi no Kuni's north. "I'll ask him for the details," Tri assured him, there was a reason he was whispering and from the few words he received he got a good idea as to why. The watching ANBU was a little irked to not hear a word.

"Will that be all, Hokage-sama?" Tri asked as he closed the folder in his hand. Gently rubbing his eyes a few times he answered, "Yes, I think we're done here. I'm giving you forty-eight hours from tomorrow morning to report to the Daimyō and return." Tri would have preferred another day or two, but he again decided against arguing, it wouldn't end well for him.

"Very well, Hokage-sama," he said with a slight incline of the head before turning for the door.

-(*)-

"I'm not sure how I'm going to spend my evenings when you've gone," Naruto quietly pouted as he neatly folded a shirt before handing it to Kurotsuchi. The latest diplomatic exchange had reached its conclusion and today the Iwa contingent were heading home. "Then that makes two of us," she replied taking the shirt from him and snugly packing it into her suitcase.

It was late in the morning so they didn't risk placing the sound suppression scroll since the rest of the Iwa group were running around preparing for their departure. As a result they'd made their more intimate farewells the night before and now had to limit themselves to affectionate glances and split-second hand holding.

"It's going to be harder to do this during the Chūnin exams Naruto-kun. My grandfather tends to keep a close eye on me when I'm home and I expect him to be ever more watchful while he's in Konoha."

"We'll think of something," he said folding the final item of clothing. When she took it from him he placed a hand between her shoulder blades and made the series of small circular motions he knew she'd grown to like with his fingers.

With her clothing secured and the suitcase full the zip was pulled shut and the hard cased luggage sealed into a scroll. Her pouch belt was already around her waist so she handed the scroll to him and turned her back to him. Something which shocked Naruto.

The window blinds were still down so there was no chance of them being seen in the dimly lit room as he opened the pouch over her tailbone and placed the scroll inside. The sense of shock came from her turning around, for her to turn her back to him, another Shinobi, and a foreign one at that in so ritualistic a manner was to make an unspoken declaration of her trust in him. And Naruto was utterly flattered.

With the scroll securely tucked into the pouch he snapped the button clasp shut before gently wrapping his arms around her, pulling her slender form back against him. Making sure he didn't accidentally mess up her hair or ruffle her clothes he leaned in and whispered, "Thank you," in her ear. She smiled, he had recognised her action for what it was.

Now Naruto would have to think of a way of making a similar pledge to her, he couldn't do it right now, that would be poor form, but she would now expect it of him. To not do so would be to show a lack of trust in her, something which in the immense complexity of Shinobi relationships was deeply insulting. But he would have time, and he would bide it awaiting the right opportunity.

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts, "Kurotsuchi-sama, are you ready? It is time for us to depart," a male voice asked. Thankfully both halves of the young couple knew no one would barge in without first announcing their presence and also seeking permission to enter, so there was no need to jump to opposite ends of the room.

Nevertheless, Naruto begrudgingly released his light grip from around her waist as she answered. "Yes, I'll be with you in a few moments."

"Very well, Kurotsuchi-sama. I'll wait here for you." Naruto mentally laughed, they knew he was in here helping her pack, _'Appears none of the others trusts me in the slightest._ '

"I suppose it's time to say goodbye," she whispered after turning to face him once again. "For now at least," he answered just as quietly. Both came together and shared the lightest of kisses, the contact as delicate as falling snow. It would be their last until next they met.

As expected of guests in fancier hotels, the guest had tidied up after themselves and a small black bag of rubbish now sat by the door. With all her possessions on her person Kurotsuchi opened the door while Naruto casually hefted the light bag of rubbish over his shoulder.

The Iwa Shinobi who awaited their exit spied the bag over Naruto's shoulder and failed in restraining a smug smirk. ' _The son of the Hokage_ _reduced to carrying rubbish,_ ' he thought, finding it incredibly gratifying a sight to see. In return Naruto felt his own sense of smug satisfaction, only he hid his completely. ' _Go ahead Iwa nin, laugh it up. The trade-off is more than worth it._ '

The door was pulled shut, the automatic locking mechanism triggering as soon as the latch slid into place. With the two male Shinobi continuing to glare at one another Kurotsuchi, an amused look on her face, led them down the long corridor towards the reception where the others awaited them, Naruto depositing the rubbish bag in a collection chute built into the wall on the way.

Reaching the bottom of a flight of stairs they exited out into the well-maintained reception, it was a wide, welcoming space with a long wooden desk manned by two receptionists at one end, a smattering of comfy looking seats and a collecting of Iwa Shinobi in the far corner. Naruto found it rather humorous that they sought to remain as far away from anyone native to Konoha, a strange mixture of both apathy and suspicion etched on many of their faces. ' _Guess it's going to take some more time for the sense of unease and mistrust to wane,_ ' he thought.

Kurotsuchi handed her room key over to a receptionist and signed out before turning to count up her Shinobi to ensure all were present. A quick count revealed they were one short, "She's to meet us by the western gate, she wanted to bid her farewells to someone," another informed her, the disdain in their voice evident. Kurotsuchi scowled at them for their tone but only nodded.

She barked orders to get them moving and the ten-minute walk to the western gate that followed passed in utter silence, none of the Iwa nin spoke a word, not even to each other. They instead spent the entire time watching everyone, civilian and Shinobi alike. For many of them, this was still the equivalent of walking into the lion's den.

Their arrival at the western entrance/ exit of Konoha saw them reunited with the final member of their group, the petite medic that seemed to have enamoured Shinsuke. Of course, Naruto's quirky team member was also present, the two of them laughing at some joke he had made. The looks of disdain shown towards Shinsuke paled in comparison to some of the looks the medic received, many were of disgust and Naruto couldn't tell whether she knew or just simply ignored them.

"Keep an eye on your medic, some of the looks she getting aren't very friendly," Naruto subtly whispered to Kurotsuchi. A few quick glances were all she needed to confirm it for herself. "I'll keep an eye on it," she assured him. She'd be damned if she'd let the feelings from a bunch of her fellow Shinobi endanger her and Naruto's collective dream to not see their villages attempt to annihilate one another.

"Yo, Naruto!" Shinsuke called over in greeting upon spotting his commanding officer. "Hey Shinsuke," he replied with a wave. Any further opportunity to converse was severed by a sudden flash of yellow. Naruto was used to people suddenly appearing nearby after years of Tri and Itachi doing similar. The same, however, couldn't be said for Shinsuke or the Iwa contingent, many of whom seemed to want to jump a mile at so casual a use of the Hiraishin.

While his father could be at times a tad naïve, he did at least possess the foresight to apologise to the Iwa group for using the technique that had left a mental scar buried in the psyche of their entire village. "Sorry about using the Hiraishin but a de-brief overran and I wanted to see you off," he said sheepishly.

His apology didn't really seem to do much to alleviate the quasi-panic attacks he'd instilled in many of them, Kurotsuchi's eye twitched while members of her team looked upon the yellow flash with no small amount of trepidation, as if they expected the feared tri-pronged kunai to start appearing around them.

"Err, right – ok. If you could – ah, refrain from doing that in future, that would be most appreciated Hokage-dono," Kurotsuchi asked – no, pleaded. Minato, in Naruto's eyes anyway, actually looked slightly embarrassed by her request. "Uh… That would probably be best," he admitted. "And if I may. Please, whatever you do, don't use that around my grandfather while he's here for the Chūnin Exams." Seeing the obvious logic in her request, Minato quickly nodded his agreement.

At his nod a look of mild relief seemed to wash over her face, "Thanks. And thank you and your village for your hospitality, Hokage-dono," she formally said, there was no bow but there was a respectful nod of the head, an action Minato reciprocated, "You are most welcome, and we look forward to welcoming you and your villages Genin teams in a few weeks' time. As usual an ANBU team will follow you to ensure you return safely to Tsuchi no Kuni," he replied.

The rest of the farewells were brief, most of the Iwa group maintained their silence, Naruto and Kurotsuchi shook hands while Shinsuke and his friend shared a brief hug. The looks they received were spotted by Minato who in turn looked his son's way, a sad look passed over his ageing face, the younger blonde slowly nodding back.

Watching Kurotsuchi's form fade and shrink into the distance before finally vanishing over the horizon was collectively one of the easiest and one of the hardest things he'd had to do in years. On one hand all he had to do was stand there and watch her walk away and yet he desperately didn't want her to go.

It astounded him that in the space of just a fortnight or so her presence had chiselled out a space in his very being and her absence left him feeling incomplete. It was a strange, alien sensation, so was the hand waving in front of his face, why was there a hand?

"Hello… Naruto-kun?" Minato repeated for the third time, his hand just a few inches from his face. The distant look in Naruto's eyes quickly faded and re-focused as his consciousness was dragged from the depths of his mind. "Sorry, Tou-san. What did you say?"  
"Are you coming?"  
"Uh, yeah. Sure," he was quick to reply.

"I guess it must have been an important debrief," Naruto said after a few minutes of walking alongside his seemingly deep in thought father. "Objectively speaking it wasn't, Rezano-kun and Tri-kun returned about an hour and a half ago and there was a lot to get through."  
"They returned together?" Naruto inquired, Minato nodded, "That's weird, what are the odds of running into one another on their way back like that."  
"They didn't."  
"They didn't?" asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "Their missions overlapped and eventually merged and it was an absolute clusterfuck."  
"And why didn't I know of this before now?"  
"Because Tri's mission was an ANBU operation."

It might not have sounded like much of an excuse but Naruto wasn't a member of ANBU thus he had no right nor reason to know what occurred on a mission involving Konoha's masked corp.

"Kakashi and Team 7 received what was supposed to be a fairly simple C-rank mission to escort the mission client back home to Nami no Kuni. On the way there they run into Gōzu and Meizu…"  
"Wait, the Demon brothers?" Naruto said in surprise. "Yep, a C-Rank classification goes out the window right there. Anyway, a short skirmish broke out with Kakashi eventually tying them up and leaving them for a patrol to pick up."

"Hold up a second, Nami no Kuni is to the east, right?" Naruto asked for clarification. "It is," Minato confirmed. "And the demon brothers were apprehended where?"  
"Hi no Kuni's easternmost province." Now Naruto just looked confused, "But no one patrols out there because…"

"...There's nothing there," both said simultaneously. "I know, Kakashi-kun's thinking bewildered me too."  
"So they've inevitably escaped then?"  
"No they're dead, they got really unlucky when Tri-kun found them. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

"After running into the brothers they reached Nami no Kuni where they ran straight into Momochi Zabuza." Naruto's eyes widened in alarm. "Again no one was hurt, at least not permanently – somehow. Kakashi-kun and Zabuza fight each other to a standstill before interference from Zabuza's underling masquerading as a Kiri hunter-nin saved his life.

"Not long after the fight, Kakashi-kun collapsed from the strain of overusing his Sharingan. Then they reach the clients home where thankfully Meshikamaru-san uses her intuition to request reinforcements.

"Sakura-san and her teammate happened to be conducting one of Tsunade-san's surveys in eastern Hi no Kuni and were closest, so I reassigned them. By sheer chance the last person on the Daimyō's and Tri-kun's kill list was traced to Nami no Kuni so he went as well, he'd keep an eye on the others while completing his own objective, it was en-route that he stumbled across the demon brothers."  
"This is already sounding pretty ridiculous," Naruto admitted. "Oh don't worry, it gets better," said an exacerbated Hokage.

"Over the next few days they were able to figure out that the guy who hired Zabuza to kill team 7's client and Tri-kun's final target, a weasel of a man named Gatō, were in fact the same person. They found out Gatō had hired another Kiri nin, this time in the form of Ringo Ameyuri." Naruto's eyes widened a second time, "But she's dead, has been for years!" he exclaimed in shock.

"Well, she is now. Anyway jumping forward, it all came to a head after team 7 had been on the island about a week. Tri-kun went after Gatō via the large property he had constructed on the isle, Kakashi fought Zabuza a second time, Sakura-san and her teammate Kusuri-san had the unenviable task of tackling Ringo while the Genin looked after the client and handled Zabuza's friend, who it turns out possessed Hyōton."

Naruto winced, for such inexperienced Genin to fight for their lives with limited aid from their more experienced companions was a difficult ask, and to make a difficult situation even harder they had to combat a Kekkei-Genkai very little was known about.

Minato continued to talk Naruto through what happened, his increasingly exacerbated descriptions ending with the debrief that had finished not twenty minutes earlier. "I am amazed we only lost the one Shinobi throughout all that," Naruto said. He didn't know Kusuri but the death of a fellow Konoha Shinobi was always saddening.

"Are Tri-kun and Rezano-kun both at home then?"

"Rezano-kun will be but Tri-kun's helping Sakura-san fulfil her duties." Minato turned his head and saw the lack of understanding on his firstborn son's face. "Sakura-san was Kusuri-san's commanding officer, the task of informing the next of kin falls to her." Naruto didn't say anything further, there was nothing to say, he simply nodded once and they returned to silence.

-(*)-

"Are you sure we should leave the body there?" an incredibly nervous Sakura asked as they left the hospital morgue. "Yes, Sakura-chan. They'll clean and prepare her body for viewing and burial as well as make most of the preparations for her funeral. It lightens the load on what's going to be an awful day for her parents." She didn't look entirely convinced but her mind was in no position to think of a valid counter-argument.

"Have you met her parents before?"  
"Y-yes," she hastily replied. "Good, it's always better that these come from people they know," he said as he guided her towards the address he'd had her write down days earlier.

He could see how jittery and on-edge she was since retrieving her from the entrance hall of the Hokage tower. So, irrespective of the public setting, he took her hand in his trying to bring her the slightest comfort, utterly ignoring the curious looks they received from passers-by.

He purposefully set the pace of their walking, too quickly would spike her anxiety and risk it overwhelming her, too slow would drag the whole ordeal out and likely lead to the same outcome.

He'd given some thought as to whether to put her under some sort of Genjutsu that would help her through this but alas, he didn't know any that would achieve this nor did he feel it would benefit her in the long run. No, she needed to do this herself, he would be there to support and help her through it but he could not do it for her.

"Do you know what you're going to say?" he asked her, with the little time they had before their arrival, he would help her plot out her statements. "N-no," she said hesitantly. "Hey, don't fret. You'll want to keep it short and to the point but you don't want to be too concise, you might come across as uncaring," he explained.

"O-ok. Do I tell them as soon as they open the door?"  
"No," he replied shaking his head, "Ask them for entry first. You don't want nosy neighbours eavesdropping. Don't hide the reason for your presence, however, tell them it is in relation to their daughter, their imagination and fears will likely stitch it together before you even tell them."  
"Do you think they'll ask how she died?"

"They might, I guess some take comfort and solace knowing that their child died valiantly. If they ask, tell them. Let them be proud of Kusuri, let it show through your words."

As he spoke their destination came into view and immediately Sakura's steps slowed as she recognised the house front, her desire to simply be anywhere else right now was overpowering. Yet despite that, Tri's voice cut through, "Sakura-chan, you can do this."  
"I-I can't," she responded. "Yes, you can," he calmly replied, she didn't know how but his voice seemed to reverberate across her mind and the weight of anxiety seemed to recede in its wake.

He coaxed her towards the door and with a reassuring squeeze released her hand. Seemingly empowered by the simple act she clenched her hand into a fist and raised it up. Three times her knuckles struck the painted hardwood, the deep-toned noise spreading throughout the home within.

Tri turned 90° so he could easily see the door and the street, his Sharingan span menacingly, dispelling those curious as to the nature of their visit. They heard the lock release, Sakura took a final deep breath as the door opened.

Stood in the doorway was a middle-aged man and woman. ' _Good,_ ' Tri thought. The faces of both seemed to brighten for a moment as they recognised Sakura but immediately dampened again when neither saw Kusuri alongside her. That the son of the Hokage was present went utterly unnoticed.

She didn't know quite how she found the words, they seemed to simply spill from her mouth in an organised order. "Hiroto-san, Manami-san, may we come in, I'm afraid it's about your daughter." Sakura had said 'daughter' because she simply didn't know what honorific to use under such circumstances.

Their hearts plummeted, both were Shinobi and both could piece together the reason for the visit of their daughter's friend. Manami, a Jōnin, had had to perform this duty before, put on a brave face as she stepped aside, "Please, come in," she bid them. Taking her husband's hand, his face had already gone white, she led everyone to their front room, Tri shut the door behind them and tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.

Manami had to practically force her husband of over twenty years to sit, she quickly sat next to him, their hands all tightly clasped together as they hoped a fools hope that the statement about to come from Sakura's mouth would be something else, anything else.

With her hands held behind her back, grasping the opposite forearm, Sakura spoke, "Hiroto-san, Manami-san. It is with great sadness that I must inform you of the death of your daughter, Kusuri, on her most recent mission." She stopped there, no more needed to be said as her words settled into the minds of the now grieving parents.

Hiroto broke first and within moments, from the few interactions Sakura had had with him she'd noted him as an emotional man, the tears freely fell down his face. Manami held it together admirably, seemingly for her husband's sake. "What happened?" she asked.

"She was killed in combat fighting a Kiri missing-nin by the name of Ringo Ameyuri," Sakura answered. A flicker of recognition crossed Manami's face as she recognised the name. "Her body has been left with the morticians until you are ready."  
"W-was she b-brave?" Hiroto asked between sobs. "Incredibly. She gave her life to ensure Ringo could be killed. If she hadn't, I'd be in the morgue with her, as would likely several others. She realised the threat Ringo posed so she made sure we could put down Ringo even at the cost of her own life."

"And what became of Ringo Ameyuri?" Manami next asked. "Dead by my hand. Then buried in an unmarked grave, a full report will be available in due course," Sakura blankly replied, the image of her fist driving into Ringo's face playing repeatedly in her mind. The older woman nodded once, she wanted to confirm she was actually killed and that her daughter didn't die for nothing. She pointed her head towards the hallway that led to the door. She was asking them to leave

Both bowed respectfully and quietly departed leaving Manami to finally let her grief wash over her.

Tri closed the door behind them, after the door shut Sakura's head and shoulders slumped alarmingly. For too long her body had been held up by mounting tension alone and now, with her duty done, it was leaving her and taking all her energy with it. She already seemed to be struggling to stand up straight.

"Come on, let's get you home," Tri said to her. "Huh?" she wearily murmured as he took her hand again. Immediately he noticed a difference, the speed of her steps was greatly reduced. The weeks of worry and mental fatigue that came with it had left her utterly drained.

Fearing she might actually collapse he released her hand and simply scooped her up bridal style and carried her. With chakra surging through his legs he jumped the almost fifteen feet up to the roof of a nearby building. And using chakra to lighten the impact of his landing on each roof he quickly sped across entire blocks of Konoha. If any had looked up at the right moment they might have seen brief flashes of pink and violet.

The distance to the Haruno household was quickly covered, Tri dropping down in front of the staircase that led up to the home. Not wanting to tackle walking up the steps normally and to lessen the risk of banging Sakura's head on the wall he shunshined to the top. He set her down on her feet but kept an arm around her waist to keep her from falling as he knocked on the door.

Thankfully, in Tri's mind at least, it was her father, Kizashi who answered. His eyes took in the sight of his utterly drained daughter being held up by Tri. "Hi Kizashi-san, can we get her somewhere she can rest, I'll explain afterwards." Snapping to attention, he quickly put his arm around his daughter's waist in place of Tri's.

"Mebuki-chan!" Kizashi called upstairs, the slightly worried tone of his voice had her charging down the stairs by which time Kizashi had laid Sakura down on a sofa, her head propped up on a few cushions. Mebuki noticed Tri first and then her daughter, her eyes snapping back to glare at Tri. ' _Oh good, can't wait to see what asinine conclusion she jumps to today._ '

"What happened?" she demanded. "She's fine, just exhausted," he first said to allay their concerns, "Her latest mission took a lot out of her mentally." Mebuki suddenly grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pushed him back against the wall with a thud. "You'd better not be the reason," she growled. That she was Sakura's mother was the only reason he didn't react.

"Let him go, Mebuki-chan," Kizashi tried. "No! I told you he was trouble but you didn't listen. And now look at the state our daughter is in," she hotly retorted. "Am I going to be allowed to explain or did you wish to continue running with your irrational dislike for me a while longer?" Tri darkly tested her, red and green eyes glaring into her green.

"Stop it. L-let him go, Kaa-chan," a quiet, worn-out voice demanded. Mebuki's head snapped around to see Sakura had sat up, her hands holding onto the sofas back, her arms visibly shook from the exertion of holding herself up.

"But, sweetie…"

"No, Kaa-chan. Let him go," she snapped in as stern a voice as she could muster. It was all she managed before falling back, the cushions lining the sofa's arm cushioning her fall. Mebuki released her hold on Tri before rushing to Sakura's side. "Mebuki-chan. Maybe it would be best if you put Sakura in bed," Kizashi suggested. The woman's ingrained worry for the wellbeing of her child snuffing out her animosity for Tri. "Sure," she readily agreed, picking her up and carefully carrying her upstairs. Sakura managed the faintest of waves, Tri gave her a wave in return.

Leaning his head back Tri rolled it around his neck to work the kinks out. "What happened?" Kizashi asked. "I'll explain it in order, the important details are towards the end."

Only pausing to remove her sandals and pouch belt Mebuki deposited Sakura on her bed, pulling the duvet over her and tucking her in. Sitting down next to her on the bed she pushed the hair that had fallen over Sakura's face out of the way. "It's not his fault," she whispered, unable to project her voice any louder. Within moments she fell asleep.

Mebuki sighed, she delayed immediately heading back downstairs and used those few moments as a chance to think clearly. She had over-reacted, that was obvious, but she had acted on parental instinct, that was understandable – wasn't it? But her first instinct was to accuse the young man who seemed to watch out for Sakura the most.

She didn't like Tri and that would likely never change, she simply did not trust him with her daughter's virtue and certainly not her life but even in Mebuki's bias mind she considered her actions unfair. She wouldn't apologise though, no, she was far too stubborn a Shinobi for that. Giving her head a shake she stood and slowly, quietly closed Sakura's bedroom door and headed back downstairs.

She could hear Tri's voice but not clearly enough to make out individual words, they became clearer the closer she drew. His words became audible to her just as she re-entered the front room, those first words were ones that shocked her, "Kusuri-san is dead."

"What?!" she exclaimed, Kizashi's face fell as Tri continued explaining. "Kusuri-san was wounded and resigned herself to death, to ensure Sakura didn't die too she deliberately took a mortal wound to restrain their opponent allowing Sakura to make the kill. I do not believe she feels guilt over her death but it has hit her hard."

"Is this the reason Sakura is in the state she is now?" Kizashi solemnly asked. Kusuri was known to them, they'd met a few times as she became one of Sakura's closer friends despite having only known her for a few months. "Yes," Tri answered, "You understand the importance of Kusuri serving under Sakura-chan, yes?"

Mebuki understood first, she gasped, "The duty of informing the next of kin," she said, a little colour drained from Kizashi's face as he too understood. "Correct, since remembering that Sakura has been a nervous wreck. While she has come to terms with her death well enough and worked through most of the grief, she was still held in a constant state of worry. Struggling to sleep she agonised over every detail of how she was going to tell Kusuri-san's parents until finally, not fifteen minutes ago, she did.

"The state she is in now came over her as soon as she'd finished, the anxiety and tension have been eating at her, with them gone there was nothing to hold back the exhaustion that had built up. I imagine she will sleep for quite some time so don't be surprised if she doesn't wake until tomorrow.

"And if I might make a suggestion, have Tsunade-sama or Shizune-san take a look at her, I know mental health is hardly the most understood of sciences but it can't hurt. When she does wake, tell her I've already informed Tsunade-sama of Kusuri-san's death. And while Hokage-sama has already given her a week off, I'll also ask that she be taken off of Tsunade-sama's active duty roster until the Chūnin Exams begin, I know she's on the list of Chūnin that are going to be enlisted to help out and she could use a break."

Mebuki found herself feeling grateful, a sensation she never expected in tandem with the man in front of her, but there it was as he provided a few more details on events he felt they needed to know from Nami no Kuni before bidding farewell.

He began walking from the room but stopped next to Mebuki, "You know. That you automatically assumed Sakura's condition was my doing doesn't reflect well upon you as a person or as a Shinobi. That you are Sakura-chan's mother is the only reason I allowed you to grab me." Now he turned his head to face her, "Do not attempt to do so again." There was no malice in his voice, his tone was calm and didn't carry the air of a warning, yet that is exactly what it was.

"Are you threatening me?" she growled. "No. I am simply warning you, put your hands on me again and I will break your arm." Without another word he left.

Running his hand down his face he began to make his way to the hospital, Tsunade would want a full rundown of what happened then he'd be spending most of the next two days running to and from the capital, the Daimyō would also be expecting a full debrief, the parents of the woman Gatō had kidnapped and murdered would have to be informed of his death and the announcement that all those involved were now dead.

Then there was a Chūnin Exams to begin preparing for, he needed to have a talk with Itachi, his research into the indecipherable seal was lax of late too. Right now Tri found himself instead wishing for the simpler life that Naruto led. "Wonder how bored he's been during the diplomatic exchange?" he quietly asked himself.

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End Chapter


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

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Hello all, as a heads up I didn't get the first chapter of the Remaster finished for a few reasons. One, I wanted to take a break over Christmas and two, it's going to be far longer than I originally thought, the first 6/700 words of the original is already 3500 so the chapter might run to 8000-10,000 words.

But my new Fic is ready to go, the first two chapters of that will be going up at the same time as this.

Oh, and merry Christmas.

* * *

Sibling Fallouts

The sun's rays were overwhelming, his eyes were screwed shut but it still penetrated beneath his eyelids to cause him minor discomfort. They'd deliberately changed out the material of the curtains for a thicker fabric specifically to cut this out and it still got through. It was an annoyingly constant occurrence for the beds two occupants because the rooms sole window was at the perfect angle to allow the early to mid-morning sunlight to stream through.

If the male occupant had still been asleep then it wouldn't have been an issue. But it was years ago that he'd reached the point where his Sharingan would activate the moment he woke, it wasn't even a conscious action anymore.

"Ugh, the new curtains don't work very well, it's still too bright," he complained. "You could just turn your Sharingan off as I suggested," a female voice replied in amusement. "Hm," he grunted as the intensity of the light continued to rise. In a last-ditch attempt to stem the blinding tide he hid his head beneath their thin duvet.

"Much better," he quietly said as the light stabbing at his eyes dropped sharply. After a few seconds Itachi was able to open his eyes to take in the very appealing side-effect of being able to see under the duvet. Izumi lay on her side facing him and she was without a shred of clothing.

He went silent as he appreciated her physical beauty, his sudden silence perked the interest of the until now dozing Izumi, her head appearing under the duvet shortly after. "Hey."

"Hey," he distractedly replied, his eyes not leaving her body. She followed his gaze to her breasts and smiled. "See something you like?" she asked as she shuffled closer to him. Her question finally tore his eyes from her chest as he took in her grin. "Yeah, there's one thing in particular," he said looping an arm under her and pulling Izumi to him.

"That was both sweet and corny, Itachi-kun," she giggled. "Perhaps, but you did say you enjoyed me looking at you," he blankly replied. Izumi knew that he was teasing her despite the monotonous tone he'd used, the small grin on his lips proving her point. After all he was effectively paraphrasing a statement she'd made a while back during one of the more 'enthusiastic' nights.

"I did say that, didn't I," she whispered in his ear while taking one of his hands. "Hmm, your hand is too cold," she noted. "We'd best warm it up," as Itachi raised an eyebrow she wrapped his hand in both of hers

"I believe there was a second half to that quote," she added with a hum of enjoyment as she vigorously rubbed her hands against his, the friction quickly warming his skin. "Don't worry I remember," he assured her.

"You up to much important today?"

"There are a few things I need to do this afternoon. I'm going to go see Kaa-chan and I'm hoping to speak to Tri-kun, he's supposed to be back from the capital today according to Naruto-kun. But none of that is going to make me get out of bed anytime soon. How about you?" She shook her head, "No, nothing much for me, I've some paperwork I need to hand in and then I thought I'd do some training. But now I'm curious, is there nothing I can do? Nothing that could tempt you out of bed?" she grinned.

"As she spoke she ceased rubbing his hand, her action having noticeably increased its surface temperature. Bringing it up to her mouth she kissed his palm before placing his hand over one of her breasts, "There, much better," she happily chimed.

"Ok, now you've made me curious too, if anything this is going to only lessen my desire to get out of bed even further," he asked rubbing his thumb gently against her skin. "Well, I was thinking, it's been a good while since we last showered together." His eyes widened a little as he cast his mind back, "Huh," he muttered, it had indeed been a while, five to six weeks by his reckoning. "You know what, that does sound nice."  
"Excellent, that means you can carry me," she excitedly said.

Itachi lightly snorted in laughter at her request, she had him carry her around rather often, it was something she enjoyed and he was happy to perform the simple task for her. He threw the duvet back, Izumi's laughter filling the room as he lifted her from their bed.

Snuggling against his shoulder she sighed, she loved the feeling of quasi-weightlessness that being carried by Itachi provided her. "Do you feel like eating out tonight?" he asked her upon reaching the hallway. Her head snapped up, "Absolutely," she cheered, her head eagerly bobbing up and down. "Ok, I believe it's your turn to decide where."  
"Yay," she again cheered as they reached their small bathroom. Setting her down on the plush bathmat he reached in to turn the taps on.

Despite its small size it featured a shower more than big enough for them both to comfortably fit in. Turning back around Itachi was greeted by a most magnificent sight, Izumi had hopped up onto the sink basin and leaned back against the mirror. Her long, dark hair spread over her front, the black colour contrasting well with her light skin. With a hand on each knee she slowly, agonisingly slowly pushed them apart allowing him to drink in the sight of her entire form.

With just a single finger and a knowing grin she beckoned him to her.

-(*)-

' _And breathe,_ ' he told himself. Even after a stress-free morning in the company of Izumi he felt a sense of dread returning, it was time to once again visit his sole remaining parent. He still loved her like every son should love their mother. But when he looked upon her now he wasn't reminded of Uchiha Mikoto, instead he saw the fragmented remains of a once remarkable woman who had been his mother, his Kaa-san.

That feeling of dread tried to well up once more only to again be beaten down a second time. He felt it every time he came here, born from a mixture of hope, hope that she had in some way improved, and a heavy dose of pragmatism. That pragmatism was created by Itachi's years as a Shinobi to always expect the worst, it left him almost devoid of optimism, yet a small bastion held out. Thus the dread would return just as he did on each of his visits.

With a heavy sigh he stepped up to the door and knocked. As an immediate member of the family he could have just simply walked in and none would have batted an eyelid, but not now, not to him. To Itachi, this building was just that, a building, a house he no longer called home, inhabited by a family he barely recognised anymore.

After a short time the door opened, just as always he was greeted by an elderly woman, "Itachi-sama," she greeted him, taking his hands into hers, Itachi respectfully inclining his head to the senior Uchiha. "Hello, Tetsudai-sama," he replied. Both still disliked the 'Sama' honorific but both would only drop it if the other did so first and both were too stubborn to be the first, thus it remained.

She bade him enter, stepping aside so that he might do so, quietly closing the door behind him. First removing his sandals he stepped further into the hall before turning to face her, ' _Let's get the inevitable out of the way,_ ' he thought already convinced of the answer he would receive.

"Has there been any change?" he asked her. With a look of compassion on her face she slowly shook her head, with a small sigh he nodded in return. "She's had less paperwork to grind through of late so I have been able to coax her into resting more, I still believe her best chance of healing lies in more rest and less stress," she said hopefully, oh how Itachi wanted to share in her optimism but he couldn't, again he just nodded.

"And what of my younger sibling?" he next asked. The glint of sadness that crossed her eyes wasn't missed by him but both had long since seemed to stop seeing each other as brothers, a great indicator of the growing animosity and resentment. "More and more his anger overwhelms him and I fear he will grow only worse now that he has awoken his Sharingan."

That stopped Itachi in his tracks, "What? When did this happen?" he quickly asked. He knew of Sasuke's recent mission to the Land of Waves but not the specifics and certainly not this important detail. "During his most recent mission in Nami no Kuni, I don't know what happened but when he returned he said he'd awoken them but nothing more. Did you not know of this?" A third time he shook his head. "No, I know about as much of this latest mission as you do."

' _This will be something else to ask Tri-kun at some point,"_ he thought to himself.

Tetsudai quickly looked around, making sure it was just the two of them before she spoke, her voice quieter than before. "Since his return I've overheard him muttering to himself about usurping you as clan heir." That made him silently chuckle, _'Still harbour desires to best me, Sasuke-kun?_ '

"I wouldn't worry too greatly about that, Tetsudai-sama. I've faced far worst and triumphed, it's going to take far more than a petulant teenager with anger issues to usurp me, Sharingan or no." She seemed to visibly wince at his words

"Shall we go see her?" she asked, after taking a moment to recompose himself he agreed. Together they slowly passed through the building, despite her age Tetsudai did a wonderful job of keeping the place looking immaculate. Before long they reached the corridor that held the entrance to the office.

Ever since her breakdown Itachi had not once seen her in any other room, at least not while she was conscious. Just as he'd yet to see her do anything that wasn't in any way clan work related.

Walking into her office, he began the process of what he always did. A kiss on the head was followed by a brief hug before he rounded the desk to sit in the chair before her. After which, he talked, weeks of events were recited in succinct detail to a woman whose facial expressions couldn't have looked any more blank as she continued to churn through paperwork, not slowing in the slightest in the presence of her eldest son.

And Tetsudai did as she always did, lean against the doorframe and watch and listen. Watch as neither Itachi nor Mikoto moved as he spoke, and listened as Itachi's tone of voice never changed regardless of whether he spoke of something happy or sad. The whole experience made Tetsudai feel melancholic but continue to watch she did.

From the sounds of it Itachi was nearing the end when she heard footsteps approaching from down the hall. Turning her head she saw it was Sasuke who'd shown himself. "Sasuke-sama," she politely and respectfully greeted him, he seemed about to respond when he heard Itachi's voice, his attention immediately switching to that.

Looking into the office he watched him speak on what seemed to be mundane things. "What is he doing?" he quietly demanded of the older woman. "Talking," she answered. "Talking?" he repeated in mild confusion, his voice carried a tone that expected her to elaborate. "Yes, just talking. Whenever he visits he just sits in that chair and tells her what he's been up to." For a few moments the constant look of anger and annoyance left Sasuke's face, "Does she ever respond?"

"No," she said with a sigh. That look instantly returned to Sasuke's face and he snorted, "So what's the point," he said darkly before stomping off down the hall. A sad look from Tetsudai followed him, his shoulders slumped, hands buried in his pockets. With another sigh she turned back to the office. Itachi had finished and was in the process of bidding farewell with another hug.

As Itachi moved out into hall Tetsudai placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, he gave her a weak smile in return before his features steeled. "Which way did Sasuke-kun go?" he bluntly asked. She pointed him down the hall and Itachi vanished, only to reappear a moment later, his sandals in hand. He'd been so quick her hand hadn't had a chance to feel the effects of gravity, it was still on his shoulder.

Instead of shunshining again he chose to instead walk normally up the hall. He heard Sasuke long before seeing him so he knew he was outside as stepped out of one of the houses two side doors. Slipping on his sandals he silently closed the door behind him. It brought him out to a narrow but long training area. He stood at one end and down the other end were wooden targets used for shuriken training, Sasuke was perhaps a third of the way up with his back to him. Along the right-hand side was the house and on the left was a wooden fence built to stop ricocheting shuriken from flying off and potentially hurting someone.

As if on cue Sasuke threw a shuriken, it struck a previously thrown shuriken instead of the wooden target and recoiled off embedding in the fence, it left Sasuke growling in frustration. "Why won't they fly straight?" he angrily asked himself. "It's because you're tensing your wrist and forearm as you release," Itachi neutrally supplied.

Sasuke spun on the spot, he hadn't heard Itachi's approach, "Seems you need to work on your awareness too, I did nothing to inhibit my presence." Sasuke said nothing, he just watched with suspicion as Itachi walked over to the fence, retrieved the shuriken and walked back.

"That tension means that although you're releasing at the right time you're dragging it slightly off target, like so," he slowly, by his standards, launched the metal implement at the target, one of the four metal prongs buried itself deeply in the wood. Sasuke lowly growled again at how it had flown arrow straight and hit the bullseye.

' _I'll show him!_ ' he shouted in his mind as he withdrew another shuriken and let fly, putting all the power he could behind the overarm release, again it lacked accuracy. Itachi shook his head, overarm throws always sacrificed accuracy for power, himself preferring to use the back-hand wrist form, it sacrificed a little power in exchange for greater reliability of accuracy.

"You focus too greatly on power, Sasuke-kun. Focus on accuracy first then you can incorporate power, it's no good if you miss your target entirely."  
"Oh what do you care?" Sasuke snapped, withdrawing another shuriken and lobbing it, he almost missed the target entirely. "I would prefer my only sibling get through the Chūnin Exams alive." Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "And how would you know if I'm competing?"

"Truthfully, I don't, I don't think you're near ready. But I do know Kakashi-kun, he is lax in responsibility, lazy and frankly rather ill-suited to be a sensei. I fully expect him to dump the application forms on you about a week or so before the exams begin."

Funnily enough Sasuke agreed with Itachi's assessment of Kakashi but to say he wasn't ready for the Chūnin Exams? He snorted in amusement. "You think it a joke?" he retorted, "These are no Academy tests, people die in these Exams. Do you not remember what happened in Kumogakure, Naruto-kun killed someone for simply insulting Kushina-sama. Then I and Tri-kun put each other in the hospital."

"It doesn't matter, no one can stand against me," he arrogantly declared. "What? Because you've finally awoken your Sharingan?" Sasuke visibly winced but quickly recovered his bravado, "And how would you know if I have?"  
"Because I listen, far more than you ever have, you'd be amazed at what you can learn by simply listening."  
"Hmph, irrelevant," he dismissively and stubbornly declared as he went to collect his shuriken. Itachi walked with him, "What? You think your under-developed Sharingan is going to make much of a difference? I had eight years' experience using mine by the time I was your age, whereas you've had little more than eight days."

"Shut up! The Sharingan is unbeatable," Sasuke shouted in frustration. "You'll be competing against Shinobi much older and far more experienced, some will be faster than your new Sharingan can currently compensate for."  
"What do you want?" Sasuke asked as they picked up shuriken. "I'm here to tell you to wise up, Sasuke-kun. Drop the arrogance and learn to control your emotions. I know you're smart, definitely smart enough to realise that relying solely on your Sharingan so soon is foolish."  
"Hah! As if you've ever fought without using your Sharingan before."  
"Well, you're technically right, I've never fought in anger without using them. But I've trained plenty without them against Tri-kun."

"Again you mention the pathetic half-breed, and for what!?" Itachi snorted, "And again you aren't listening. I trained against someone who understands the Sharingan and is fast enough to counter the heightened perception it grants, there is no one better suited to train against than him."

With all the shuriken recovered Itachi looked Sasuke dead in the eyes, he deactivated his Sharingan so black eyes stared into black eyes. "Sasuke-kun, being so reliant on your Sharingan will prove your undoing as it eventually would for me if I hadn't taken steps to decrease my reliance on my eyes. Yes, they are powerful but far from unbeatable."

Itachi knew the dangers of over-reliance on his eyes better than most, his Mangekyō's vision had already begun to worsen despite his limited use of its greatest abilities. But he couldn't tell him of the Mangekyō's existence because he feared Sasuke would stop at nothing to obtain them.

Sasuke took a few moments to consider the feasibility of Itachi's words, the Sharingan beatable? ' _No!_ ' a voice screamed in defiance at the back of his mind, the power of the Sharingan was absolute, there was no greater Kekkei-Genkai. The zealousness Sasuke currently experienced utterly blinded him to the fact that Madara's Sharingan had been trumped by Hashirama's Mokuton.

Seeing the defiant look grow on Sasuke's face Itachi realised it wasn't going to work, "You really should take better care of these," he said handing over a few of Sasuke's shuriken as his Sharingan reappeared in his eyes. "Also, in future, keep your comments about how I interact with Kaa-san to yourself," he warned. "Why? It's your fault she's like that."

Itachi had been in the midst of leaving when Sasuke spoke, he stopped and strained his neck to look over his shoulder. The look on his face made Sasuke step back in concern. "If you want to apportion blame then lay it at the feet of our traitor of a father. After all, you don't blame the cure to a poison, you blame the poisoner," then he was gone.

Sasuke was stunned into silence, never before had he heard Itachi speak with such authority behind his words, the raw power strengthening each syllable left him in a state of mild shock. Only after the shock wore off did his anger return but by then Itachi was long gone, not to hear a word of Sasuke's furious ranting.

-(*)-

That final comment had sparked a fuse in Itachi, it was difficult to get under his skin but Sasuke had really struck a nerve. Itachi's renowned calm persona was pushed aside as he took out his frustrations on an unfortunate training ground 71.

He dropped to his knees, the soft earth underfoot breaking his fall, gasping for air through clenched teeth. Tightly grasped in each hand was a now blunt kunai, his knuckles bleached white. Every target within the training grounds boundaries had been cut to ribbons and each now better resembled a pile of oversized matchsticks. Trees were covered in gashes and leaked sap from deep gouges, leaf covered branches cut free littered the ground.

Taking a deep breath he let the kunai slip from his limp fingers, he'd gripped them so hard he'd lost a great deal of feeling in his hands, they landed silently in the grass as his calm began to reassert itself. He looked around at the damage he'd caused, a pang of guilt welled up, the workers whose duty it was to maintain the villages training grounds wouldn't be happy. But even Itachi wasn't immune to occasionally needing to blow off steam through erratic displays of violence.

"Well you've made one hell of a mess here," a familiar voice said in amusement. Itachi lifted his head to face the direction Tri's voice emanated from. "People would expect this from me, not you. Which leaves the question – What happened?"  
"I went to see Kaa-san." Tri raised an eyebrow, "And that leaves you angry now?" Itachi levelled a stare at him. "No. I also attempted to educate my foolhardy sibling."  
"Ah – that would explain a great deal. I guess it didn't go well."

He had asked cautiously, Itachi wasn't the most receptive when discussing personal matters, even less so on those rare occasions of emotional outburst. Itachi made eye contact with his heterochromatic friend, Tri held his gaze. "I tried to break through that veil of arrogant stupidity he's erected around himself," he lowly said.

"The influence of my fool of a father runs deep in him, he is absolutely convinced in the total superiority of the Sharingan. And now that he's awoken his he is utterly convinced it'll be the key to success in the Chūnin exams. I don't know what you think about Rezano-san's chances but Sasuke-kun isn't close to ready to compete in them."  
"Ability-wise I think Rezano-kun is able to compete at a competitive level, he has more than enough talent, I just don't think he's mentally mature enough for the pressures it entails."  
"They do participate in teams of three for a reason," Itachi countered despite agreeing with him. "Irrelevant, Meshikamaru-san can't carry the both of them," Tri replied. "Agreed."

"Why do you raise the Chūnin exams? Are they taking part all off a sudden?"  
"No idea," Itachi answered shrugging his shoulders, "But… Remember who their Jōnin Sensei is." Tri lifted a finger and looked ready to counter but stopped himself, "…Good point…" he conceded, after all this was Kakashi they were talking about.

"Anyway, this isn't what I'm here to talk to you about. And if possible we should keep this brief."  
"Why brief?"  
"Because I promised Minusha-chan I'd spend the afternoon with her but so far I've spent all of it looking for you." Itachi couldn't help the small smile that escaped, "I do apologise for inconveniencing you so."

"What do you already know?" Itachi followed up, a serious look on his face. "The Hokage was brief and very vague but whatever you found didn't sound promising, whatever it was."  
"Orochimaru." That one word was all that was needed to totally grasp Tri's fullest attention. "You saw him?"  
"Not, not in person but from everything I've read about him it's got his fingerprints all over it. An intelligence report from Jiraiya-sama traced him to Ta no Kuni so we followed.

"He's been a busy serpent," Itachi added referencing the missing-nin's fondness for the legless reptiles. "He's built or is in the midst of building a hidden village of his own." Tri laughed, "Still hasn't gotten over with being passed over for Tou-san when choosing the Yondaime. "How much did you find out?"  
"Not much unfortunately. Are you going to be around for the exams?"

"Yes, I've been made proctor for the third exam. Why? You believe the two related somehow?" A quick look of surprise passed over his face. "Congratulations and yes, yes I do believe they're linked because of this." He pulled out a folded piece of parchment, sketched onto it was a musical note.

"A musical note?"  
"Yes, look out for this on Hitai-ate over the next few weeks."  
"You think he'll infiltrate the exams?"  
"I do. He's made it pretty clear in the past he wants to reduce Konoha to a smouldering ruin."

"Sure but how? Let's presume this is all so he can launch a surprise attack, how does he win? He's still going to be overwhelmingly outnumbered and the advantage he gains by the surprise will fade, only Kumo has more registered Shinobi than we do.

Itachi frowned, Tri was right, it raised questions of his own. "And say he does attack during the exams, he risks endangering the lives of Genin from multiple other villages, two of which are Iwa and Suna. They'd all be baying for blood if any of their Genin were killed, he'd be crushed under sheer weight of arms."  
"Perhaps he's settled for just killing Hiruzen-sama, Hokage-sama perhaps?" Tri provided.

"Maybe… But again how does he get out alive. Say he goes after Hiruzen-sama, he then has to contend with three more S-Rank Shinobi in Hokage-sama, Kushina-sama and Tsunade-sama and that's assuming Jiraiya-sama isn't in the village."

Both shook their heads, with the information they currently had it didn't make sense, "Perhaps it would be better to wait for more info, we've already passed into the realms of pure speculation," Itachi muttered. "I guess you're right. Hopefully we'll know more before too long, Muninn and Huginn are both on it already, as deeply unhappy as they were to have their task changed again. This does at least answer one question for me.

"It explains why Hokage-sama's changed tact, he wants to make a display of power throughout the Chūnin Exams. And if Orochimaru does intend to get his fangs into these exams then Hokage-sama wants to make him think twice about it."

Tri sighed, "This isn't even what I wanted to talk to you about initially either but this takes precedent despite my frustrations on the matter."  
"Danzō?" Itachi guessed. "Yeah, I got chewed out big time by Hokage-sama the other day for bringing it up. But he can wait – for now."

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End Chapter


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

I hope everyone had a pleasant Christmas and New Year.

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Review Replies

 **GunBlade2018** : Talk about a comment that makes your day, thank you!

 **Po** : Apologies Po, I completely forgot to reply to your reviews in the last chapter. So after reading through all three of your comments, I frankly, agree with everything you laid out. Looking back at earlier chapters and Arcs some of my character building is quite simply, terrible. You highlighted perhaps one of the biggest examples of this and it is definitely something that will be getting a complete overhaul when I get to it in the remaster.

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-(*)-

Use that Downtime wisely

"NARUTO!" a boisterous voice cheered at an uncomfortably loud volume mere moments after he'd walked into the bar. Naruto winced at the slurred voice that assaulted his ears but thankfully was able to home in on its source – one drunk Izumo.

"Who in the world is shouting?" Inuzuka Hana asked following Naruto in a few moments later, she too scanned the occupants of the bar and quickly spotted Izumo, "Oh no…" she whispered – "HANA!" Izumo drunkenly shouted. Next to Izumo was a very irate Anko, "Will you stop shouting?" she hissed venomously, her fingers massaging her temples.

"Uh hi, Izumo-san," Naruto and Hana replied lest he think they hadn't heard him and shouted again, something that would have quickly earned them Anko's ire.

The bar as a whole, however, was surprisingly quiet given a fair number of people were present, people spoke but their voices were barely louder than a whisper. "Seems nobody wants to annoy Anko," Naruto whispered to Hana as they walked to the bar, she nodded her agreement. Both quickly and quietly had their drinks in hand and seeing they knew nobody other than Izumo and Kotetsu decided to join them.

"Finally," Anko huffed in a slightly pained voice, "Someone I can talk to who doesn't shout." She winced and screwed her eyes shut as she groaned in pain. "You ok, Anko?" Hana asked tentatively not bothering with honorifics knowing of Anko's dis-use of them. "She's got a huuuge headache," Izumo cheered in a voice that was far too happy and again way too loud. The look he got from Anko was murderous.

Realising his mistake Izumo clamped his mouth shut and prayed Anko wouldn't vent her pain on him. He was visibly relieved when Anko turned to face Hana, "I'm hungover," she briefly explained. The two newly arrived Shinobi looked at one another then down at the small sake jar on the table in front of Anko. She spotted their gazes, "I was in no mood to cook bacon," she said.

Her excuse confused them more than anything, "Y-you could have just gone to one of the breakfast bars in the market quarter," Hana supplied.

Anko rested her forehead on the table with a groan, "Too far, walking here was hard enough," she tamely answered in an attempt to cover for the fact she'd completely forgotten those breakfast bars existed.

The two of them shared another perplexed look, they knew Anko's apartment was mere minutes from the market, in fact the bar they were in was further away. They were about to call her out of it but were prevented from doing so.

"NARUTO!" a second familiar voice shouted from across the bar. Naruto turned his head as Anko's fingernails dug into her temples, the noise further hammering at her already massive headache. Naruto quickly spotted Kotetsu approaching having just left the bathroom. And just like Izumo, Kotetsu too was drunk as evidenced by his attempt to give Hana a hug that almost resulted in them both ending up on the floor.

After the Inuzuka dragged him back to his feet he felt the full-force of Anko's glare upon him, he gulped as she spoke, "If either you or your idiot friend here shout one more time I'm going to castrate you with a snake."  
"I-I-Is that even p-possible?" Izumo slurred. "We're five seconds away from finding out!" she snapped. "Gah," she immediately growled as her own voice spiked the pain once again.

Thankfully her warning seemed to have had the desired effect as both drunken Chūnin stood stock still, backs straight, a little colour drained from their red cheeks. The consensus was simple, you abided by Anko's warnings, not only were they creative but she would actually follow through on them. That crumb of common-sense broke through the veil of drunken stupor that clouded their judgement.

"Have you taken anything for it?" Hana asked. "Yeah," she said through clenched teeth, "I took the herbal remedy a while ago, still waiting for it to fucking work." Hana nodded in understanding, the herbal remedy for hangovers was effective, very effective in fact, the only problem was that it took an age to work. So all Anko could do was wait for its effects to take hold.

The minutes that followed passed in relative quiet, someone would say a sentence or two but it never sparked into a full conversation. Time passed and Anko's fingers, tensed again her temples and forehead began to relax, the remedy finally taking hold.

"Finally," she eventually said in relief standing up straight and rolling her neck to a series of satisfying clicks and cracks. "Feel better now?"  
"Much," she replied to Hana's question, that trademark evil grin making its return. "So what did you get up to last night?" Naruto asked. She shrugged, "Same as usual. Found a bar – got drunk. Found someone who caught my eye – got laid," she casually answered.

"Funnily enough," she continued looking at Hana, "I spent last night with one of your clanswomen, feisty little thing she was," Anko said with a grin, "She really liked the biting and scratching."

Izumo and Kotetsu both snickered behind their hands in light of an Inuzuka seemingly living up the clans sexual stereotypes of preferring rougher sex than most, Hana meanwhile just rolled her eyes before addressing the drunk friends, "We can find out if dogs are able to give castrations without mangling everything else in the process," she said menacingly. The snickering stopped immediately, Anko and Naruto laughed.

"Maybe I should have been finding out if you're all bark, no bite last night," she joked. Hana grinned in return, "I'm flattered, Anko, but I just ain't a ladies lady."  
"Oh you don't have to have to bat solely for the women's team, you can try out for both," her grin widened. "It's great fun – don't knock it till you try it is all I'm saying."  
"Anyway, steering this conversation elsewhere. Chūnin Exams, anyone got a role?" Hana asked even as Anko pouted.

Naruto shook his head, "No, I got nothing." Anko's lips meanwhile contorted into a smug grin. Izumo and Kotetsu both looked as if they wanted to say something but held their silence, the earlier threats still at the forefront of their minds.

"What's with that look, Anko? What did you get?"  
"Oh, nothing too important," she said with a dainty sniff. "I'm calling bullshit on that – spill," Naruto demanded. Instead of answering Anko instead checked her nails, breathing on then buffing them on the sleeve of her Trenchcoat. "Anko…" they all said drolly.

"Oh, ok," she said excitedly, "You're talking to the Proctor of the second exam!" she proudly exclaimed. "Seriously?" Naruto found himself asking as Hana gave her a congratulatory pat on the shoulder. "Yes, seriously. Hokage-sama called me to his office last week and told me I was going to be Proctor for the second exam. I almost jumped over his desk to hug him." That made Naruto laugh, "You should have done, the awkward look on his face would have been priceless. Anyway, congratulations," he finished sincerely if a little enviously.

"I wonder who the Proctor for the first exam is then?" Naruto questioned aloud. "Why only the first?" Hana asked, "Why not the thir… You know who the Proctor for the third is, don't you?" Naruto smiled sheepishly, "Yeah…" he admitted.

…

"Well come on then, tell us!" Anko demanded.

"We already know it isn't you," Hana muttered. "I wish it was but no, you technically aren't far off though."  
"It's Tri," Anko said immediately. "No, not necessarily. We don't know what exactly he's referring to, he could have bee…"  
"It's Tri-kun," he interrupted. "…Oh" Hana uttered, Anko smirking at her. "So that makes two, now I'm wondering who the third is?" Anko followed up.

"We know," Kotetsu squeaked breaking the two Chūnin's rather impressive bout of collective silence. The three of them all looked at Kotetsu, "You do?" they incredulously asked as one. "Uh huh," he said vigorously nodding. "Well spit it out then," Anko said blankly. "Only if you say please," Izumo retorted without thinking.

Kotetsu paled as Anko's eyes narrowed, her gaze burning into them, "Four seconds…"  
"It's Ibiki-san!" Kotetsu said in alarm, desperate to preserve his ability to procreate. "Wow, I didn't see that one coming," Hana said just before Naruto started laughing.

"It does seem like the obvious choice though. Who better to test them mentally than Ibiki," Anko said in a moment of professionalism, "And what are you laughing at?" Anko also said, Naruto's laughter had continued all through her statement.

"Those poor Genin. They get subjected to Ibiki-san's test, then they get your multi-day combat exercise straight after. Are there going to be any left for Tri to officiate a tournament for?"

Anko grinned herself, "A fair question, but worry not I'm sure a smattering will survive to reach the finals – Not that it'd be my fault if none of them are able to complete what I've got in mind."  
"You know what you're exam is going to be?"  
"I may have had an idea or two."  
"And how many is your idea going to kill?"  
"Hey!" she said scandalised, "It won't be my fault if any of the Gaki's snuff it."

"I'll tell Tou-san to have a supply of body bags ready."  
"If there's a body left to bag," Anko said quietly.

Her comment brought a moment's silence to the table that could be described as eerie.

"Okay then, definitely not worried about my Otouto's safety or anything," Naruto remarked before asking a question of the two drunk Chūnin, "You two have any idea what Ibiki-san's test will entail?" Both shook their heads, "No, *Hic*," Kotetsu said, "He's b-being very quiet about it," Izumo added.

"Won't it just be like every other opening exam, a written test of some kind?" Hana said. "Hmm, that's true but this is Ibiki-san we're talking about, there's no one better at mental manipulation. He'll have a way of really cranking up the pressure." Both women nodded their agreement.

"Hang on," Hana said in realisation, "How did you two know Ibiki-san is the Proctor?" she asked the lifelong friends. "Cause we're some of the Chūnin aids," Izumo answered as Kotetsu was too pre-occupied with drinking. "Ah, making sure the kiddies don't cheat," Anko smirked as a subtle saddened look crossed Naruto's face.

"What with the glum look all of a sudden?" Anko questioned. "Ah, nothing really. Just a tad envious of you and Tri-kun. Sitting on the sidelines just watching is going to be dull in comparison."  
"Nawh, poor wittle Naruto," Anko teased reaching across the table to pinch his cheek. "Gerrof," he laughed lighting slapping her hand away. The T&I specialist playfully rubbed the back of her slapped hand, "Besides it's your own fault. You're the one who wanted to play babysitter for the Iwa girl."  
"I suppose."

"Any idea how many are gonna show up?" Hana asked no one in particular. Again Anko shrugged her shoulders as Naruto spoke, "Hundreds by the sounds of it, Tou-san thinks this will be the biggest Chūnin Exams for years. It's going to get really busy around town when they all start arriving."  
"You got that right. Getting my Dango is a respectable time-frame is going to be nigh impossible," Anko pouted. "Then to your Dango," Naruto laughed raising his cup. "That's something I can get behind, to my Dango!" she cheered, the others eventually joining in.

-(*)-

 **An hour later**

"Aww, come on, do you really have to go? You've only just got here," Anko pouted following Naruto's announcement he had to leave. "I've been here nearly two hours Anko and yes I need to go, I'm helping Rezano-kun train… That's not going to work, Anko," he said as she gave him the crocodile tears treatment.

"Oh fine," she huffed, crossing her arms as she gave up. Naruto quickly bid his farewells and departed. Stepping out onto the street he drew a deep breath and opted to walk home instead of hopping across the rooftops, it wasn't that far anyway.

' _Really glad I didn't drink anything strong, I was in there longer than intended,_ ' he thought looking up at the suns position in the sky. After stretching his arms he reached behind him to ensure Kagizume was still secure in its sheath, losing it would have been rather embarrassing. Kuchibashi was still at home on the wall, the shorter Kagizume very much the weapon he carried daily.

Naruto weaved seamlessly through the throngs of people going about their business, it was one of the busiest times of day so the streets were busy. Most were civilians yet none stopped Naruto to talk despite his quasi 'celebrity' status that came with being a member of the Hokage family. He would still get waves and nods of greeting but they didn't interrupt him and that suited him just fine.

' _It's busy now, I dread to think it's going to be like in a few weeks,_ ' he noted. Before long the civilian crowds would be joined by hundreds of Genin and their accompanying Jōnin. And it would only get worse for the third exam a month later, that brought crowds of spectators and merchants from across the Elemental Nations. Hotels would be fully booked up, bars and restaurants would be crammed and the stadium on finals day would be heaving.

It didn't come as a surprise, there was a lot of money to be made on Chūnin Exams from gambling and such, especially ones featuring multiple major villages. ' _Someone should probably keep an eye on Tsunade-sama on finals day._ '

Making sure everyone behaved themselves would be a real pain and he didn't envy those who would be charged with those duties. There was very real potential for latent animosity to boil over into violence. Kurotsuchi had stressed this greatly during the meetings she and Hokage-sama had held over Iwa's participation. She'd sought substantial assurances over her Genin's safety, after all, Konoha, Suna and Taki would also be in attendance. So to ensure the rule of law was abided by ANBU had been drafted for policing duties.

And Naruto was almost certain that the Iwa Genin would be instructed by their sensei amongst others to push those boundaries as far as they will go. It was worth it in Naruto's eyes though, his favourite Iwa Shinobi would be here too.

A small smile crossed his face at the prospect of spending more time with Kurotsuchi. They'd have to be more mindful, there would be more eyes this time – a greater chance of being caught. She'd not been gone a fortnight and he still struggled to find things to occupy his evenings.

At that his smile turned to a frown, not even fourteen days gone, they'd been together not even a month and her absence was already having a detrimental effect on him, it was actually something of concern.

Yes, she was his first girlfriend so this was still a relatively new experience for him but as a Shinobi he was trained from an early age to set aside emotion, it made it difficult to form those personal bonds so to have developed one this quickly went in the face of his training and mental conditioning.

' _Perhaps this is something I should discuss with her. It's too important to go through the scroll,_ ' he wondered just as he arrived at the gate that led up to his family home. Even twenty years after first buying the place his parents still loved it, they were lucky it was still big enough.

From previous conversations with his mother and father Naruto knew that they'd only initially intended to have two children which would have been him and Rezano. But Tri's unknown arrival the very same day as Rezano's birth and subsequent adoption which was followed a few years later by the unexpected surprise of Minusha.

Minato had initially questioned whether they really needed a five-bedroom house but Kushina had stood firm, she'd fallen in love with the place, in what turned out to be an inspired decision.

That was something else Naruto needed to put some more thought into at some point, was it time he moved out and got his own place? He was in his late teens now and earning more than enough from missions to pay for it. The money he'd accumulated from his time as a Jūnishi meant he even had enough to buy a pretty big house outright, no need for a mortgage.

"There you are!" an annoyed looking Rezano complained. "Sorry Rezano-kun. I lost track of time a little," he apologised. Rezano, all geared up, had clearly been waiting a while huffed and grabbed him by the sleeve and proceeded to drag him towards their back garden via the kitchen so they could start.

"Hey Kaa-chan," he said spotting the woman sat at the kitchen table. She lifted her head from a letter to the amusing sight of her youngest son dragging the substantially larger frame of his older sibling through the kitchen. "Hey Naruto-kun," she smirked.

Their backyard was a large, open space well suited to light sparring such as this. Naruto was dumped at one end of the garden while Rezano positioned himself at the other. "You better be ready, Nii-san," he warned. Naruto grinned, drew Kagizume and adopted a defensive stance.

' _He seems a little frustrated,_ ' he noted judging from the glare he was getting as Rezano obscured his hands from view. ' _Oh, what range are we going for, Otouto._ '

He soon found out as Rezano unleashed his opening strikes from middling to long distance. Naruto parried and deflected each of them in turn hardly having to move his feet. The lack of movement meant he could better analyse Rezano's strike patterns.

Having difficult to read patterns was important for the Jinchuriki when using his chain kunai at range, there were only two of them and were often far apart, if his patterns were too easy to predict then an opponent could easily slip through his guard. It took a few moments to reel his chains back in to defend himself so for those few moments he was completely exposed.

And slip through was exactly what Naruto was going to do when he'd learnt these new patterns, these were more intricate than the lasts ones he'd observed so he was wary of deliberately placed 'flaws' in the pattern that was meant to ensnare him.

"Good, these attack patterns are better, harder to read," he commended as he learnt the pattern in its entirety. Rezano made the mistake of immediately repeating it and Naruto struck immediately. A low swing aimed to get Naruto off the ground was his downfall. Naruto instead used slipped the thin blade of Kagizume through one of the chain links and pinned it to the ground. In an instant a kunai was at Rezano's throat.

"You're getting better, faster too," he reassured him as the younger brother groaned in frustration. "Remember, no one, to my knowledge, has ever had a combat style like yours so this is all your work, you've very little to use as a foundation," he reiterated lowering his kunai. "I know," he sighed, "It's just… You always seem to find a really simple way through. It takes me hours to come up with these combinations and you slip through in seconds."

Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder, "I might slip through in seconds but what about your teammates? Those in your class in the Academy? Those are who you should be comparing yourself against. I'm years older and have a lot more experience to draw on. You will get better, much better – I guarantee it. You've still to incorporate high power Ninjutsu into this style and that is where your true strength lies. Those two elements blended together sounds pretty damn awesome."

His words of encouragement seemed to have worked as a small smile appeared on Rezano's face, "Thanks Nii-san."  
"How's your defensive work?"  
"I could do with some help," he admitted. "Let's work on that some then."

Naruto pulled Kagizume free releasing the pinned chain, after which they went through a series of Kenjutsu exercises of increasing difficulty. It was Naruto on offence and Rezano just defending and while Naruto limited his speed, he did not limit the complexity of his attacks. The aim was to force Rezano's to improvise on defence, improvisation helped train the body to act independently of the mind.

A problem for many Shinobi was that the speeds their body was capable of exceeded the speed at which their mind could think, and so the mind became a limiter on their continued development. Thus training one's body to react instinctively without the need for thought became a necessity. And although Rezano had yet to encounter this problem the successful training of this skill would allow for incredible reaction times.

The attacks to begin with were simple but far too many got through for Rezano's liking. Yet, paradoxically, as Naruto upped the complexity Rezano's defending improved, fewer attacks got through. ' _He is succeeding in isolating his body from his mind._ ' Naruto grinned allowing him a brief respite. "Ok, Otouto. I'm going to start mixing in Taijutsu now."

The instant he finished speaking Naruto buried his foot in Rezano's stomach. "Gah," the Genin winced stumbling back unable to prevent himself dropping to one knee. "The hell, Nii-san?" he complained. "You got distracted," Naruto simply replied. "Yeah… Because you were talking."

"I was, however, you shouldn't be getting distracted by a sentence. You must always be mindful of potential breaks in your concentration," he said turning to return to his starting position.

' _Look beneath the underneath,_ ' Rezano thought recalling one of Kakashi's 'slogans'. Quietly taking one of his chain kunai he threw it around Naruto's ankles. "Yes!" he fist pumped jumping to his feet, the chain looping around his ankles. Naruto chuckled, "Better. But remember, take advantage of every opportunity given to you, and remember to press those advantages."

Then, the instant he finished talking, he was gone. "Damn it," Rezano muttered as Naruto was replaced by a log. Rezano hurriedly looked around but couldn't see him.

Remembering a previous training session he suppressed his chakra for a few moments to see if he could sense Naruto's. Immediately he felt something, something directly behind him. He spun as fast as he could and there was… nothing. "Where did he…" the blade of Kagizume was gently placed against his neck.

"Your spatial awareness is improving," Naruto noted, "It used to take you much longer to locate my chakra."  
"Yeah I still struggle with it though, the problem is suppressing my chakra enough to sense anything," he glumly admitted. "It's not your fault, you just have so much chakra. Tri-kun's not very good at it either for the same reason. Rezano nodded, those with large chakra reserves tended to struggle when it came to sensory skills. To some it came naturally, they'd become sensory Ninja, something Konoha had very few of.

"Hey, Nii-san. While we're here can you take a look at my water walking?" he asked, chirping up a little. "Sure. I'd heard you'd been introduced to the exercise."  
"Yeah, back in Nami no Kuni. I didn't get much time to practise it before… well, you know. But it's something I've been practising since I've been home and I think I'm getting better."  
"Alright, let's see it."

Reeling in his chains he unhooked his kunai and replaced them in their holsters on his waist. They walked over to the garden's pond where Rezano slipped his sandals off before tentatively stepping out onto the calm water.

Naruto watched closely as Rezano struggled a little for balance on the calm surface, paying particular attention to how Rezano's feet contacted the water. He stayed silent as he observed. "How am I doing?" Rezano eventually asked. "Not bad. Your chakra control looks solid. Look at the ripples for an indicator, you want just a single ripple for every footstep, any more and you're not using your chakra as efficiently as you could. And where did you get the idea to take your sandals off?"

"Meshikamaru-san said it would be easier if I took them off," he answered. "And I'd agree, not having to push your chakra beyond your skin greatly simplifies the task until you're ready to try it with them on.

"I'd also recommend trying this as a chakra control exercise," he added kneeling down, he placed his hand on the water's surface and pushed. But no matter how hard he pushed his hand never plunged beneath the surface. "Water walking and tree climbing are great for learning to channel chakra to your feet. This is a simple way to practise channelling it to your hands. I presume you want to learn the Rasengan one day?"  
"Uh huh," Rezano nodded. "This exercise will help you prepare for it as you have to channel a lot of chakra through your hands."

Rezano knelt down next to him and gave it a try, it took almost no force for his hand to pass into the water. "The more force you apply, the more chakra you need to use and the harder it is to control," Naruto explained

"Can you do this with your feet too?" That idea hadn't actually occurred to Naruto, "I've never thought of trying it but I don't why it would be any different," he admitted.

Rezano grinned as he quickly stood up to try it, his grin widened as he had to push down fairly hard to get his foot beneath the surface, it did work. "Nice going, Rezano-kun. I think you just came up with your first chakra exercise." His grin grew even larger and morphed into a proper smile at Naruto's words.

Kushina too was smiling, although she had continued her work unhindered, it was a nice day so she'd opened the window. She'd heard everything said between her two boys and she couldn't help smiling at the encouragement Naruto had given.

* * *

End Chapter


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

* * *

 **Review Replies** :

 **GunBlade2018** : Thank you friend, much appreciated.

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* * *

-(*)-

The Chūnin Exams Approach

-(*)-

"Ok you three, I think that'll do it for today," Kakashi said cheerfully. His three Genin opened their eyes in shock, even for Kakashi this was early. Today had been a day of teamwork exercises – again, and it felt like they'd barely gotten started. The looks of near disgust from Rezano and Meshikamaru went unnoticed as Kakashi held out three pieces of paper.

"Before you guys take off, take one of these each." One after the other they stepped forward to take one. "Chūnin Exam entrance form," Meshikamaru said aloud reading out the title. "Yup," Kakashi chirped, his eye-smile on display. "You think we're actually ready?" she questioned. "Uh huh," he nodded.

…

She had been expecting an actual answer, so why was she shocked when he simply vanished in a swirl of leaves. "Honestly, why does this still surprise me?" she irritably muttered. "Kami if I know," Rezano added.

Sasuke seeing they were clearly done spun on his heels and left. His two teammates eyed their already leaving third team member before sharing a look between them, it involved some eye-rolling and sighs of resignation. Any attempts at actual teamwork today had been hindered by Sasuke being an absolute pain in the ass.

"Kami damn it, does he honestly think we're ready?" she grumbled as they too made their exit from the training ground. "Not as ready as we might be if we actually worked as a trio," Rezano said taking his turn to grumble. Meshikamaru sighed, "Ain't that the truth. We just wasted another, what, couple hours on teamwork exercises that don't seem to impress upon dear Sasuke what 'teamwork' actually means."

"Mendokusē," Rezano uttered which got a raised eyebrow from Meshikamaru at his use of her twins catchphrase, especially his use of the same shorter form of the word Shikamaru used. She couldn't disagree though, "Mendōkusai," she said herself.

"Don't suppose either of your brothers are free for some training sessions over the next few days are they?" Meshikamaru asked him. "Probably, Tou-san's been keeping them in the village so both are rather bored. I'll ask and let you know."

"Thanks."

After that they, for the most part, walked back into the village in relative silence, both lamenting how much more confident they'd be if they had an actual third team member. Upon reaching a major crossroad within the village they bid a brief farewell before going their separate ways.

"Tsk, typical Kakashi-sensei," Rezano griped. "Dumps these on us without warning and doesn't even have the decency to stick around to answer questions afterwards." He had so many complaints he wished he could hurl at the copycat Ninja.

"Am I ready?" he quietly asked himself, "Are we as a team ready?" he followed up. Because that's what was truly important, right? Only the best teams would succeed and progress to the third and final test and it was only then that one could display individual skill.

Rezano differed from most of the Genin that would be competing in that he had personally witnessed a part of previous exams when Tri and Naruto had competed in Kumogakure. He'd watched Naruto kill one of his opponents without hesitation. Yet so many of his friends and classmates from the Academy were confident, if not cocky about competing, yet replaying Naruto killing someone struck very hard – you could die in these exams.

He lifted his hand to read the form held in it. He was brought a brief respite when he noticed he had until the morning the exams started. ' _I still have some time to think it over at the very least. I suppose I should be thankful sensei didn't give us these the day before, I can easily picture him doing that._ ' It meant he had just under a week to make his mind up.

If only that sense of relief could have lasted that long. Reading a little further he noticed in bold underlined text, ' **For a team to compete, all three members must unanimously agree to participate** '.

' _Oh joy,_ ' he thought envisioning how much more unbearable Sasuke would become towards him if he decided not to enter.

"At any rate, I think I will be asking Naruto-kun or Tri-kun if they're free to have a few training sessions with me and Meshikamaru-san. I reckon we'll need them considering we learnt more from Tri-kun and Sakura-san during the week in Nami no Kuni than we have done from Kakashi-sensei all together." He was surprised by just how embittered his voice sounded.

It was a tone of voice born of frustration and one other emotion, envy. He'd seen how his former classmates interacted with their assigned Jōnin sensei. How Asuma, with Ino's help, was managing to get action out of Shikamaru. How Kurenai was slowly helping to build Hinata's confidence, he'd still yet to act on Tri's advice regarding the quiet girl. And while they weren't in his class nor did two of his Genin fully enjoy his 'attitude', you could never accuse Gai of not caring for his three charges.

But as much as he might wish for a more serious Sensei, it might not have made much of a difference, they'd still need a new third Genin to replace Sasuke, his arrogance was just as big an issue to Team 7 as Kakashi's lax attitude to his responsibilities. Meshikamaru used to be able to ween 'teamwork' out of him but even that struggled now, he'd been even more obstinate in recent weeks.

Shaking his head he scattered the thoughts from the front of his mind as he shut the front door behind him. Slipping off his sandals he placed them on the rack next to several other pairs. Standing again he walked down the corridor, a quirk of their house was the bottom of the staircase being next to the kitchen instead of the entrance hall.

Reaching for the bannister he stopped at the sound of rustling paper emanating from the kitchen. Poking his head around the corner he saw his mother was still at work doing paperwork, or whatever it was, either way it entailed a lot of sheets of paper. And boy did she look bored.

"Hey Kaa-chan," he said from the doorway. She quickly lifted her head, her lips upturning into a smile, ' _Oh thank Kami, something to distract me for five minutes._ ' "Hey Rezano-kun. You done for today already?" she asked since it hadn't seemed that long ago that he'd left.

Her youngest son looked up at the clock hanging on the wall, it was 1:30 pm. ' _Not even two hours… Kakashi-sensei you lazy son of a…_ '

"Hello…? You in there?" he heard. Kushina was waving at him, "Sorry Kaa-chan. I space out for a moment." She shook her head in amusement before spotting the sheet of paper he was holding, "Whatcha got there?" she politely asked.

"It's an application form for the Chūnin Exams," he answered holding it up. Kushina slipped out of her chair walked over to him, taking the form from him she quickly scanned it. "Are you going to enter?" she asked noticing none of it had yet been filled in. "I…" he hesitated.

Handing the form back to him she pulled her youngest son into a reassuring hug. "It's okay to be nervous. Everyone is when faced with their first Chūnin Exams."  
"It's not that - well not entirely. It's just… I don't know whether I'm good enough yet. People die in these exams, we watched Naruto-kun kill someone during his."

"You won't be the only one asking yourself such questions either, trust me on that."  
"How do you know that?"  
"Because I asked myself those questions before my first Chūnin Exams. I know for a fact your father did too."

"Huh? Tou-san did?" he asked in surprise. "Yup, he hasn't always been the 'Yellow Flash'. He was a regular Genin once too. And if it's your safety you're worried about then you can withdraw at any time. There are even circumstances where you'll be looked upon more favourably for doing so."  
"Really?" he asked in disbelief, she nodded. "Knowing when you're beaten plays an important part in keeping you alive."  
"Huh, that does make sense actually. You're no use to the village if you're dead."

"Precisely," she remarked not at all disturbed by the morbid nature of his comment. "And according to your form you still have a few days to make your mind up so no need to rush to a decision," she said finally, ruffling his hair before returning to her work. "Thanks Kaa-chan," he said in gratitude, "You're welcome, Rezano-kun," she replied.

Stepping out from the kitchen brought him right to the stairs leading to the houses upper floor. Making his way up the stairs he could hear a small amount of noise emanating from a room to the left of the landing. On that side were Tri and Minusha's rooms along with Tou-san's office while on the right was his, Naruto's and his parent's rooms along with the houses main bathroom.

Reaching the landing he peeked into Tri's room, he was sat in his chair staring at the seal design on his wall. But he wasn't alone, sat on his bed, her back against the wall was Minusha idly strumming on her Biwa, a pear-shaped lute.

"Yo! Still busy I see," he said walking in to join them. "Hey," both replied, Tri in the usual monotone and Minusha in a very bored voice as Rezano sat down on the bed next to her.

Looking around it was clear to see that Tri took a great deal of effort into keeping his room immaculate. He didn't have all that many possessions and most of what he did own was normally sealed away to save space so it lacked that cluttered feeling you got in Minusha's room. There wasn't a speck of dust to be found on any surface, unlike his own room which often went neglected cleaning wise. And finally there weren't any dirty clothes lying around to give it that untidy appearance that Naruto's room was known for.

"You weren't gone long," Tri remarked pulling Rezano from his thoughts. "Nope, Kakashi-sensei decided to be especially lazy today, didn't even last two hours."  
"What you got there?" Minusha asked curiously spying the piece of paper in hand. "Right before he cleared off Kakashi-sensei gave us application forms for the Chūnin Exams." Tri lowly chuckled, "Called it."

"Nii-san?" Rezano inquired, eyebrow raised. "Sorry, it's just, me and Naruto-kun both said Kakashi-san would do exactly this. And lo' and behold… Least he gave you almost a week."  
"Thankfully… What you two been up to, or same as earlier?"  
"You're looking at it."  
"So same as earlier then, Minusha-chan." She nodded, her fingers still slowly plucking away at the strings of her Biwa. "Makes your day about as productive as mine then…" he said without a hint of sarcasm.

"Which reminds me, Nii-san, would you be able to have a few training sessions with me and Meshikamaru-san?"  
"You and your teammate?" he asked curiously. "Yeah, let's just say I'm not the only to have realised the lacklustre effect of Kakashi-sensei's training."  
"Sure, why not. Gives me something to do as well since Tou-san has insisted on keeping me in the village for the past few weeks."

"Yes!" he fist pumped, "Thanks Nii-san. Can we start tomorrow morning?" he asked excitedly. Tri shrugged, "Sure. You'd best tell Meshikamaru-san though." He nodded eagerly, "I'll go tell her later."

Rezano finished nodding and as he did his eyes fell upon the seal that occupied so large a portion of Tri's wall and so many hours of his life. Gazing at it the teenager remembered the rudimentary education in seals he'd been given by Kushina when he was younger. So he understood the basics, it was certainly enough to know that what he was looking at simply wasn't right.

A seal had to be designed for a specific purpose to work properly, all the arrays that entailed its design had to flow into one another seamlessly. If they didn't the seal would react unexpectedly or not function at all. The picture on the wall was simply a mess.

He was reminded of a night he and Kushina had done a jigsaw puzzle when he was still young, she'd said you should always start with the border and work your way in. But looking at this, where would you even begin?

The arrays were a collection of fragmented, incoherent patterns that served no discernible purpose. It almost looked like a jigsaw puzzle, the original design having been cut up into ten thousand pieces and reassembled into what he saw now.

"I'm not gonna lose you to it as well am I, Rezano-kun?" a female voice asked from the doorway. Snapping to attention Rezano spun to face the voice to find Kushina leaning against the doorframe, her arms folded across her torso, he'd not even heard her coming up the stairs.

"Err… No Kaa-chan," he said in reply sounding somewhat unsure of himself as Kushina came in and squeezed in between her two youngest looping an arm around each of their shoulders. "Weren't you doing paperwork?" Rezano questioned having seen her return to just minutes earlier.

"I was, turns out there was only one thing left. So I'm done!" she cheered. "Did you have any ideas?" she next asked her youngest. He shook his head as he looked at it again, assuming she was talking about the picture on the wall, Kushina sighed, "It was worth a try."

"Have either of you been able to learn anything about it? Anything at all?" Mother and son looked at one another then back at Rezano, "Nope, not a thing, well – besides the obvious," Kushina said for them both. "Nothing? How long have you spent between you researching and everything else again?" Minusha said, "You're two of the best seal-smiths in Konoha but neither of you is able to decipher it."

"And that's just it Minusha-chan, as far as we can tell, there is nothing to decipher. It's a broken, unintelligible muddle. But we think that whatever happened, whatever this seal did was so powerful that it irrevocably destroyed the design."

"And you don't think that that is a good thing? If it was so powerful then perhaps it would be better it remains unknown," Minusha reasoned.

Mother felt pride for her daughter for her wise words, there were circumstances where the Shinobi world would perhaps have been better if a few select Jutsu hadn't been discovered. "Maybe you're right Minusha-chan but it's difficult to suppress curiosity for such things."

"Curiosity is one thing but why do you persist if, after all this time, you've learnt nothing, why do you continue to spend hours working on it?" Rezano asked Tri more than Kushina. He shrugged," I don't really know. Perhaps the hope that if enough time is spent on it something, anything will spark a thought, an idea of what this is – or was."

Kushina's eyebrows furrowed at his words, "Time…" she quietly muttered to herself before her eyes widened again. Untangling her arms from Rezano and Minusha and hurriedly back stairs taking them two at a time.

The three siblings caught in silence listened to Kushina rush around the house, from the sounds of it she'd made for the living room. Just a few moments later she was back in the downstairs hallway and charging back up the stairs before appearing back in the doorway.

"D-do you remember this book?" she breathlessly asked Tri. In her hands she held up a small, slim book titled, 'The Nameless Woman.' Tri raised an eyebrow, "Of course, it's a story book you gave me to read when I was young." Kushina nodded eagerly as she sat between Minusha and Rezano again.

"What's this book about?" Minusha asked taking the book into her hands and looking over the cover, there was no blurb. "It's an Uzumaki storybook that was around when I was a kid," Kushina answered. "Not really an answer, Kaa-chan," Minusha deadpanned. "It's not the story that's the important factor, Minusha-chan," Tri stated with a shake of the head.

"So what is then?" she huffed as no one would actually answer her question. "There's a vague reference to a very powerful type of seal. That's what Kaa-chan's gotten excited over."  
"What's so special about this seal?"  
"It's called an Endomorphic Seal," Kushina answered to a pair of blank looks from her youngest. "It's a theoretical type of seal so complex that it, and I stress again theoretically, could do anything."

"Anything?" Rezano asked sceptically. "So the theory goes."  
"Remember, Rezano-kun. There is technically no limit to how intricate a seal can be, it is only limited by the designer's ability."

"Kind of like Tou-san's Hiraishin?" Rezano suggested. "Not quite, the Hiraishin is certainly the most advanced piece of Fūinjutsu known today but that doesn't mean it's always been the most advanced, the Uzumaki clan before the founding of Konoha were said to have completed works of Fūinjutsu that dwarf what we have today. These forgotten works are titled Endomorphic Seals, the word loosely means 'Internal Shape'. And I believe this," she added pointing at the picture, "Is the aftermath of an Endomorphic Seal," Kushina said in near reverence.

"Kaa-chan. Endomorphic Seals are very much theoretical," Tri said very much putting a dampener on Kushina's eagerness. "If we had the Shoseki no Moyou (Book of Seals) then maybe it could be explored but there's no foundation to base such research on."

He didn't like having to come down on her as bluntly as he was, he wanted to know what this seal was, he wanted to know what it did, who designed it and why. The answers to those questions would explain to him why he ended up on the plateau that night. An answer he very much wanted.

His words, sensible while heavy-handed made a major dent in Kushina's enthusiasm as she stood again. Walking over to him she put a hand on his shoulder, she understood that despite his words he wanted the answers to this seal more than anyone.

The two of them continued discussing in fairly quiet voices but what Rezano and Minusha could pick up was useless to them, the conversation had shifted to really in-depth Fūinjutsu, the likes of which contained terminology neither could understand.

For the two youngest members of the family the minutes dragged by ever slower but then a saviour came. The sound of the front door opening and closing again shortly after gave the two a legitimate excuse to make their exit. And so with quiet footsteps they did just that, Minusha leaving the book on the bed. Not that either missed their departure, they were accomplished Shinobi after all.

Rezano immediately headed downstairs while Minusha made a quick stop in her room to place Biwa in its stand before re-joining Rezano.

She arrived in the entrance hallway to find Rezano eagerly conversing with Naruto. She didn't know what they were talking about but Rezano's enthusiastic shouting of "RAMEN!" gave her an idea or two.

"I take it you need saving from boredom too?" Naruto asked her having been filled in by Rezano, she nodded. "Alright, get ready then," he instructed.

"What exactly am I saving you from?" he asked as she picked her sandals up from the rack. "Tri-kun and Kaa-chan are talking seals again but it's that kind of talk where we have absolutely no idea what they're on about" she answered. "Ah," Naruto chimed in understanding, "Well come on then," he said hurrying them up and out the door.

Before exiting himself he created a shadow clone to leave a note for Kushina to let her know they were both with him, she tended to get very anxious when she didn't know exactly where they were.

They were waiting for him at the side of the road, Minusha kicking a small stone between her feet.

"What you been up to today, Nii-san?" Minusha asked him as he joined them. They started walking towards the centre of town before he answered, "Nothing much really, a few errands, seeing a few friends I've not seen in a while. Just trying to find things to occupy myself with really, being kept in the village is beginning to drive me mad."

"Well it's a good thing you've still got a week to go then," she mentioned. Naruto darkly pouted at her, much to the girl's amusement.

"At least some of the foreign Shinobi have started arriving," he said, his face brightening again as he was expected to keep an eye on them and prevent anyone, domestic or foreign, from getting into trouble. "Huh? They've already started arriving?" Rezano asked in surprise. "That's right Otouto, some of the Suna teams have been arriving for the past twenty-four hours."

"But there's still a week to go, why are they arriving so early?"

"Acclimatisation, Rezano-kun. Some Jōnin sensei like to get their teams here early to let them get used to the climate. Sunagakure is in the middle of a desert, the air has almost no moisture, it's really dry whereas here there's an abundance of it. Iwagakure is usually colder than here all year round. While Kumogakure tends to have pretty erratic weather.

"Genma-sensei aimed to have me, Tri-kun and Itachi-kun in Kumogakure several days early for our Chūnin Exams so we could get used to the weather. Ironically it was a huge snowstorm coming south from Yuki no Kuni (Land of Snow) that delayed us so we ended up arriving like half an hour before the exams began."

"What was it like? Your exams I mean," Rezano asked in a slightly hushed voice. "Problematic at times, being the son of a Kage meant there was a target on my back, a lot of prestige available to the one who beats me, the same for Tri-kun. Not that it mattered, none of them could keep up with us anyway.

"Kurotsuchi-san had the same problem."

"Because she's related to the Tsuchikage?"

"Precisely, being his granddaughter put a target on her back," Naruto elaborated as they passed by one of the villages interior training fields.

"Did anyone manage to get any of you?" Naruto shook his head, "No, the first exam was closely monitored by proctors while we were faster than everyone else in the second exam. Kurotsuchi-san did have a run in with some Suna Genin though."

"It meant we had to put up with quite a bit of trash talk…" he was cut off by what sounded like shouting. It sounded like it was coming from the training field just behind a series of trees and thick bushes.

"The hell is that?" Minusha wondered. "Dunno," Naruto replied before grinning at her, "Let's find out." She rolled her eyes but nevertheless smiled, Rezano had already gone a step further and begun sneaking into the vegetation.

Utilising their various levels of training the three siblings slowly and quietly pushed through the brush homing in on the shouting voice. Drawing close enough they saw there were five people present, three were kids, the other two adults. It was one of the kids shouting at a sat down adult.

"Listen lady, enough of the silent treatment," the kid angrily shouted in a high pitched, squeaky voice, his gesticulating making his ridiculously long scarf flap around.

"Who's the brat?" Rezano asked sounding very unimpressed, "And why is he shouting at Sakura-san?" Indeed the kid, who couldn't have been older than eight or nine was shouting and pointing fingers at the Pink-haired Chūnin who in reply – did nothing. Her meditative pose remained unchanged, her legs crossed, eyes closed and hands held in a Ram hand-seal.

"You've actually met him before, Rezano-kun but I'm not surprised you don't remember he was just a baby at the time."

"Wait, what?" Rezano said in astonishment. "His names Konohamaru, he's Sandaime-sama's grandson." Rezano furrowed his eyebrows trying to remember.

"What about the others, know them?" Minusha asked. Naruto cast his gaze over them, "I don't know the other two kids but I recognise the guy with glasses, names Ebisu, a Tokubetsu Jōnin. He was in Genma-sensei's Genin team and by all accounts has a rather high opinion of himself. Also, if you believe the rumour mill, doesn't like Tri-kun at all."

The now named Ebisu chose that moment to step in front of Konohamaru, pushing his black lens tinted glasses back up his nose, "Now listen here, Chūnin," he sneered, the disdain in his voice set Naruto's teeth on edge. "You will show the proper respect and vacate this training field so that I, an elite, might continue the training of the Sandaime's honourable grandson."

Naruto didn't miss the flicker of annoyance across the kid's eyes as Sakura finally responded. "Respect is earned, not given," she simply, forcefully replied. Naruto had the quickly cover his mouth to stifle his mirth at the shocked expression on Ebisu's face. He'd done a pretty good job of hushing himself but behind closed eyelids Sakura's eyes looked right.

Pushing his glasses back up his nose a red flush of anger crept up his cheeks as he began aimlessly berating her, Naruto continued to struggle suppressing his laughter.

"What was the rumour about this guy and Tri-kun again?" Minusha asked curiously. "The rumour is that Ebisu-san had some quite vocal opinions about Tri-kun challenging Jiraiya, something about not respecting a Sannin I think – anyway in the end Tri-kun apparently chewed Ebisu-san out big time in the Jōnin check-in station."

Turning back to Ebisu still heckling Sakura, "You know what, I reckon there's some truth in that," she said bluntly. "Same, perhaps I should Ebisu-san that Sakura-san is one of the few people Tri-kun will listen to without question."

Her ears had blanked out the mindless shouting and were instead focused elsewhere, her eyes opened as she heard her name. She continued to ignore Ebisu and turned her gaze again to the right. Reaching behind her she slowly withdrew three kunai in full sight of Ebisu who immediately shut up upon seeing the weapons, a finger through each of the rings.

With a fast flick of the wrist that only Ebisu and Naruto could follow clearly the three kunai shot from her hand and embedded themselves into the dirt mere inches from the hedge line. Each of them lined up exactly with the three Kage children.

Naruto laughed aloud this time, "Looks like we've been rumbled guys," he said before standing up. With his hands held up in mock surrender he walked into the clearing, "Very good, Sakura-san. It's great to see that those training sessions to improve your spatial awareness have paid dividends," he complimented.

She shook her head in amusement as Naruto leant down to retrieve her kunai. Brushing the dirt from the blades he walked over and returned them to her. With an appreciative nod of thanks she put them back in her pouch held out her hand and he pulled her to her feet.

"How are you Sakura-san? Haven't seen you in a while."  
"I'm well Naruto-san, thank you. I trust you and your siblings are well too?" she asked in reply as Rezano and Minusha made their appearance. Meanwhile Ebisu seemed to be doing his best goldfish impression as they all deliberately ignored him.

"We are thank you. We were just taking a walk when we heard shouting, so we decided to investigate. How'd you know we were there?"  
"Yeah, that shouting really made my meditating difficult but I've been learning to filter out certain noises so I could just about hear your chatter, proved good practice to be honest," she agreed.

"Y-you threatened the Hokage's children," he said scandalised. All could see there was no malice in Sakura's action but that didn't stop him from grasping at straws. "Ebisu-san. Shut up," Sakura growled, her patience now wearing thin. He seemed to recoil at her words before puffing out his chest. "Watch your tone, Chūnin!" he barked, "You're speaking to an elite Shinobi," he aggressively replied. A statement that made Naruto chortle.

"You're really stretching the definition of the word 'Tokubetsu', Ebisu-san. And since you're so eager to throw rank around, remember that I outrank you," he said firmly. Ebisu sniffed, "And yet I'm entrusted with the well-being of the Sandaime's honourable grandson," he said without a shred of sarcasm.

"No, Ebisu-san. Real 'elite' Shinobi are entrusted with Anbu duties, they're entrusted with the duties of Proctor in the upcoming Chūnin Exams. And not glorified child-sitting." Sakura almost managed to suppress a snort as Ebisu's face began turning bright red as if he were a colour changing kettle reaching boiling point.

His fists clenched as Sakura waded in again to compound his frustration. "As far as a childminder goes, Ebisu-san, you ain't very good at it are you?"  
"W-what?" he spluttered in outrage. Sakura simply pointed behind him. He turned to find he was now alone, Konohamaru and his friends were gone.

"Wha… Where did he go?" he exclaimed in alarm, his glasses almost falling from his face. With a panicked cry he ran off, "Honoured Grandson!" fading into the distance.

"That was eventful," Minusha deadpanned as they laughed. "It sure was and I'm pretty sure that rumour is in fact true now. He knew exactly who I was referring to with the ANBU and Proctor references."  
"I wondered what you were driving at," Sakura said in realisation. "Anyway, what are you lot up to?"

"RAMEN!" Rezano shouted, thankfully Sakura knew the family dynamic well enough to understand that just shouting 'Ramen' had a legitimate meaning.

"Yeah, what he said. You're welcome to join us if you're free," Naruto said extending the invite. She seemed to be weighing it up, "No, 'fraid I'll have to pass but I am going that way so I'll walk with ya."

She already had all her equipment on hand so they immediately departed and were soon back on the path. Despite them all knowing her fairly well no one seemed to want to start a conversation on anything.

So instead they all listened to the everyday events of what was an ordinary day in Konoha. Passing market stalls, people having conversations, the occasional Shinobi leapt across the rooftops overhead.

Turning from one of the larger roads onto a secondary side street to take advantage of a shortcut they found themselves walking alongside a high wooden fence when, for the second time, they heard a commotion nearby. And for the second time curiosity got the better of the Hokage's children.

Drawing closer they heard a familiar, high-pitched, squeaky voice. The same high-pitched, squeaky voice they'd heard just minutes earlier. "Did Ebisu-baka find the kid again already?" Minusha wondered. Naruto and Rezano were unable to prevent themselves snickering like a pair of five-year-olds.

"Let go! Put me down you big oaf!" the voice shouted. "Yeah! Put him down you big bully!" a girls voice shouted immediately afterwards.

Peeking their heads around the corner they found it was indeed Konohamaru who'd been shouting. And he was being held clear off the ground by someone who had a handful of the front of his shirt. This person they'd never seen before, they'd have remembered since he wore a full body black cat-suit and was wearing what looked like make-up on his face.

Rezano being Rezano reacted before he thought as he stepped out into full view, Minusha and Sakura followed him out. Naruto, however, held back silently shunshining into a nearby tree.

Without smoke nor leaf he re-appeared on a high branch. He was almost directly above the commotion down on the ground. Sakura's eyes were immediately drawn to his new location, ' _Yep her awareness is much improved,_ ' Naruto commended.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rezano demanded marching forward. From this side Naruto could see that this 'cat guy' had a large 'backpack' for lack of a better term on his back. He wasn't alone either, a few feet away from him was a girl of similar age, her blonde hair tied into four, a large battle fan strapped over her back, he estimated it at some four feet long, maybe a little longer. She was stood at a 90° to her companion so he could make out the Suna symbol etched into the Hitai-ate around her neck.

' _Suna Genin I guess,_ ' he surmised as 'Cat Guy' turned his attention to the approaching Rezano. "Well, well, lookey here, more Konoha pipsqueaks," he chuckled to himself. "I said put him down!" Rezano shouted, his walk turning into a run. With a look of annoyance and briefest twitch of his hand Rezano's feet were pulled out from under him.

' _Chakra threads?_ ' Naruto wondered, ' _The thing on his back certainly seems big enough for a puppet of some kind and he's from the right village for it._ '

'Cat Guy' snickered to himself, "Jeez if this is the best a Konoha Genin had to offer then this will be even easier than we thought." He made sure to say it loud enough for everyone to hear. "Will you put the runt down before we get in trouble," the blonde girl sighed. "Ah, don't worry about it sis, this won't take long," he grinned lifting Konohamaru a few inches higher.

' _Sis? So they're siblings, huh, they don't look the slightest alike. Curious that they'd team siblings together. Unless they had the same issue me and Tri-kun did,_ ' he wondered, him and Tri had been placed on the same team because there were no other teams to split them amongst.

Naruto's attention was then drawn two branches lower in his tree.

"I'm warning you. Put him down," Rezano conveyed in the firmest voice he could manage pulling himself to his feet. For now Sakura leaned back against the fence and observed, the situation wasn't yet serious enough to warrant her immediate intervention, they were only Genin after all.

'Cat Guy' stared at Rezano, Rezano stared back. 'Cat Guy' burst out laughing for half a second before abruptly stopping. "A warning huh. Well let's say I've had enough of shorty here disrespecting his elders. It makes me want to kill him." He immediately drew his fist back.

A kunai slipped into Sakura's hand, a quick glance up the tree she realised Naruto wasn't going to act, someone else was going to do it for him.

A split second from punching Konohamaru full on in the face a stone struck 'Cat Guy's' hand.

He was forced to release his grip on Konohamaru. Holding his wrist he spun, eyes homing in who threw the stone. Immediately spotting Sasuke leaning back against the trunk throwing another small stone up and down in his hand he growled.

"Killing a child, real tough guy…" he darkly said. The girl smirked as 'Cat Guy' growled again. Naruto meanwhile was suddenly grumpy, _Hmph, copycat, shunshining into the tree._ '

'Cat Guy' recomposed himself, "Oh look, another brat," he said casually. "Say little squirrel why don't you come down from your tree," he challenged removing the package on his back. "Wow, hang on. Don't tell me you're going to use crow?" the girl said in alarm. Her apparent sibling only grinned.

' _Crow? It has a name… Guess I was right about it being a puppet._ '

Naruto senses flared again, yet another person had appeared in the same tree.

"Kankuro! Don't!" a new voice ordered. The now named Kankuro froze immediately, to Naruto it seemed as if his limbs had tensed up in what he recognised as fear. He wasn't alone either, the girl looked very nervous too.

Hanging upside down on the middle of the tree's three major branches in between Naruto and Sasuke was one of the strangest looking kids Naruto had ever seen. His red hair bore a similarity to his mother's but lacked the same vibrant tone. He couldn't quite see what it was but he seemed to have a Kanji tattoo on the side of his forehead. Around his eyes were thick, black rings that made it look like he'd never slept a wink in his life. And over his shoulder was slung a great gourd, the purpose of which Naruto could only guess at.

"G-g-Gaara…" the now named Kankuro stumbled, all that confidence he'd been displaying had just melted away. ' _Gaara? Why do I know that name?…_ ' Naruto thought with a grumble, wracking his brain for the reason. Either way, this Gaara had copied him too, Shunshining unseen into the tree.

"You're a disgrace to the village, Kankuro. Squabbling with children." His voice sounded strained, almost pained. "B-but Gaara, they started it, the little one slammed me!" he tried to argue. "Shut up… Or **I'll kill you** ," he threatened.

'Ooo. _Now that's a voice with authority,_ ' Naruto noted. ' _Guess he has a history of carrying through with his threats,_ ' he added noticing that Kankuro was legitimately shaking where he stood.

"Uhh. You're right Gaara, I was out of line…," he stammered in a near panic. "Yeah.. We're sorry, Gaara," the girl added trying to brush it off but it was clear she was unsettled too. ' _What is this kid? To leave them both in such a state…_ '

"Sorry about my friends," he apologised looking at Sasuke then down at the others. With a swirl of sand Gaara reappeared on the ground between his two teammates, both of whom took a nervous step back.

"Well I'm glad to see cooler heads prevailed," Sakura said stepping forward, the kunai now back in her pouch. "Now, Naruto-san. Are you going to come down from there or did you want to continue moping?" she asked looking up at him. A murmur of surprise spread through the others, no one had seen him, not even Sasuke and this kid with the gourd had noticed. "They're all copying me," Naruto shouted down.

"Oh for Kami sake," Sakura facepalmed. "You're a Jonin! Act like it and quit pouting. *Sigh*. Anyway, I take it you have your passes with you?" she asked Gaara, he simply nodded. "Good, keep them on you at all times in case some jobsworth Shinobi starts running their mouth and questions your presence in the village."

"Arigato, Shinobi-san," Gaara replied. "You two, let's go," he ordered spinning 180°.

"Oh, and one more thing," Sakura hastily said turning her gaze on Kankuro, "A word of advice, in future don't threaten to kill the Sandaime Hokage's grandson, eh." His face paled at her words, Sakura swore she could hear him gulp.

Sasuke appeared a few feet in front of Sakura, "Hey you, what's your name?" he demanded. "W-who me?" the girl asked in surprise pointing at herself, a small tint of red atop her cheeks. "No," Sasuke said in annoyance, him," he clarified pointing at Gaara.

"Sabaku no Gaara," he replied, not sounding the slightest bit interested. Nonetheless he reciprocated the question, "And you are?"  
"Uchiha Sasuke," he answered, a small air of arrogance punctuating in his pronunciation of 'Uchiha'.

Without another word he vanished, the others following a moment later.

"Policing all these Genin is going to be a nightmare…" Sakura sighed. Bringing together Shinobi from other villages was always a tense affair, especially when so many have a point to prove or a chip on their shoulder. And as a Chūnin who rarely got border patrol assignments she was one of those expected to keep them from trying to kill each other. None of the Iwa Genin had arrived yet either.

"Ah, don't worry about it too much. Most are just in their early teens and if anything major kicks off ANBU will step in." Naruto said dropping down next to her. "I suppose," she relented. "Weren't you going to get Ramen?" she questioned, she knew the family well enough to know that once Ramen was on their mind it was very difficult to shift it again.

Naruto's eyes widened and brightened, it appeared it had been pushed from his mind. "Times a'wastin," he said to his brother and sister. Both nodding eagerly.

Sakura turned around to find Konohamaru and his friends were gone again, "Huh, kids are actually pretty sneaky, maybe Ebisu-san is entirely hopeless after all for not noticing earlier," she quietly said to herself. Sasuke had seemingly already left too.

"Hey, Sakura-san! You still walking with us or not?" Naruto shouted back. "Yeah, yeah I'm coming."  
"Oh Nii-san, can we stop by the Nara compound before we go back home later?"  
"Uh, sure… Why?"

"Tri-kun agreed to a few training sessions with me and Meshikamaru-san. And I need to let her know. I would've invited Sasuke-san but since he's already left…" Naruto gave a few quick nods, "Alright."

With their departure none now remained except for an unseen trio of two males and one female. They'd watched the entire exchange with great interest.

"What do you think?" one asked. "None but the Uchiha and the sand runt with the gourd are of interest, keep an eye on them. Stay away from that blonde Konoha Jonin, he's a quiet one," a second voice said, "Ignore the rest." His voice slightly muffled by the wrapping covering all but his left eye.

But the chain of spying didn't end there, in another nearby tree atop a small branch concealed by leaves was a black Raven. Muninn too watched with interest, it's powerful hearing allowing it to filter out background noise and pick up every word spoken. Huginn was elsewhere in the village but their mental link kept them in constant contact with one another.

"Huginn-kun, have you found any others?" Muninn telepathically asked its twin. "None," was the reply, "What are your three up to?"  
"Being sneaky, they appear to have an interest in the younger Uchiha brother and one of the Suna Genin."  
"Yes, I see your memory, most curious. I shall inform Tri-kun that we have found Shinobi wearing the musical symbol, if that is to your agreement?"  
"It is, I will maintain my watch on these three but from a distance. They are going to lengths to conceal themselves when moving through the village."  
"Understood, fly carefully."  
"Likewise."

With a small caw Muninn, looking ever much like an ordinary Raven, took off.

-(*)-

End Chapter

* * *

 **Omake:** Gai's Genin prepare for the Exams

*Thunk*Thunk*

That sound, one of metal striking hardwood was a regular one across the dozens of training grounds spread across Konoha. It was the sound of kunai and shuriken impacting circular wooden targets.

And on this particular training field you would many of those targets attached to straw dummies, the targets simulated a targets face, heart, stomach and both hands. There were several of these straw targets and each was riddled with sharpened implements.

"So, did you hear, this year's rookie Genin are supposedly going to be competing," Lee said to his two teammates as he rebound the wrappings around his fists. "Really!?" Tenten said in surprise, a kunai twirling around her finger. "Perhaps the rivalry between the Jonin Sensei's has played a part?" she suggested. But Lee shook his head, "No, I do not think so, one of these cells are trained by Hatake Kakashi.

"Hmm, that's true," she conceded, "Isn't this the first cell he didn't immediately fail?"  
"I believe it is," Lee replied. "The Hatake Kakashi huh. Isn't the Hokage's youngest son in that cell?" the third team member, Neji, asked. "He is, along with the Uchiha and one of the Nara twins," Tenten answered throwing another kunai.

*Thunk*

"Interesting," Neji murmured after the kunai struck the target dead centre little more than a foot above his head. "Either way it doesn't matter. We are ready, Gai-sensei has made sure of that," Tenten said confidently.

"Hey, remember when Sensei recommended we watch tape from previous exams?" Both boys nodded, "Did either of you actually do so?"  
"I did indeed Tenten, they were most enlightening. We need to expect the unexpected, I saw so many techniques I'd never seen before," Lee answered while Neji, as he normally did, didn't answer.

"Ok, but did you watch any from the Kumo Exams?"  
"Hmm, it was that exam Gai-sensei specifically mentioned, wasn't it?" Lee thought aloud, "Why specifically that exam again?"  
"Because it's the one the 'Prodigal Three' competed in," Neji spat. "Exactly," Tenten chirped pointing at the Hyūga with a kunai. "And? Were they as impressive as Gai-sensei suggested?"

Neji sighed, "Honestly, perhaps more so. The final was a great example of fighting smart. Uzumaki vs Uchiha was pretty impressive since they managed to destroy the camera recording them," Neji admitted much to Lee's surprise. "Wait, really?"  
"Yeah, right at the end there's a big explosion then the video cuts to black," Tenten added. "But Neji's right. Speed, Power, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Fūinjutsu and Genjutsu, those exams had it all."

"Wow," was all Lee could manage.

"I think Lee is better off not watching them to be honest. The levels of ability those three performed at aren't going to be replicated in these exams. You've been watching matches that were far more 'realistic'.

While the Hyūga branch family member wouldn't concede it, Gai-sensei's admittance that the Uzumaki may actually be faster had made him silently curious, curious enough to look into it. During their innumerable training sessions he had seen fleeting glimpses of Gai-sensei's speed and it had been far beyond his ability to perceive. So for him to suggest another might in fact be faster… Neji found it hard to believe.

But having watched the tapes, tapes that were years old now, tapes that were recorded when they just ten, four years younger than Neji was right now. He had to acknowledge it might actually be genuine.

Some of the Jutsu, the techniques displayed were far beyond that of a regular Genin, no one had expected them to know them. Naruto might not have been able to utilise the Rasengan in its completed form but he'd still been able to make use of it. It was acts like that which separated true geniuses from the rest.

But Neji had in his arsenal Jutsu and techniques nobody expected of him. They were geniuses, but so was Neji. And in just a week's time he would have the opportunity to display just why he was regarded as the best Hyūga talent for a generation.

* * *

-(*)-


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49:

* * *

 **Review Replies** :

GunBlade2018: Thanks friend and as for ages, this actually took me a while to figure out. I have two timeline documents for this fic but one hasn't been updated in a long time, much has since changed and is now of little use and the second is even worse. Thankfully I changed the age of very few characters so to the best of my knowledge at Chapter 49:

Tri/ Itachi/ Naruto: 17  
Sakura: 15/16  
Rezano/Rookie Nine:13  
Minusha: 10/11

* * *

-(*)-

The Chūnin Exams Begin

Nervous? Yes, he was nervous, why wouldn't he be? He'd never competed in the Chūnin Exams before. But he'd swallowed his nerves and steeled his resolve last night and made his decision, filling out the application form there and then.

And now here he was, stood before the Academy he'd graduated from not six months earlier, form in hand. There were many others milling around, a variety of Hitai-ates on display, all here for the same reason he was. Rezano couldn't help but notice that they all seemed a little older than him.

Looking around the crowd he eventually spied his two teammates waiting by a tree. Sasuke leaned back against the branch, arms folded, glaring at just about everyone who looked his way. And Meshikamaru gently swaying back and forth on a simple swing hung from a large branch.

"Yo!" he greeted with a wave walking over to them. Sasuke looked away, "Hey! Glad you decided to join us," Meshikamaru said cheerfully greeting him in return. "Yeah, I'm still a little nervous still but we've never done this before so I guess that's normal. So here I am."  
"Here you are. Shall we get going?" she suggested jumping out of the swing seat, "I wanna get a look at the competition."

Rezano and Sasuke fell in behind her as they headed for the buildings main entrance. Rezano noticed they were getting quite a few looks there way, none of them seemed too friendly either. Passing through the double doors brought them to a simple hall with three corridors branching off it. In the hall was a desk manned by a pair of Konoha Chūnin. Handing over their application forms confirmed their participation.

Taking the left-hand corridor soon brought them to a tight, narrow staircase squeezed into the corner. It would take them to their destination, Classroom 301. While ascending the stairs they heard a commotion behind one of the doors, without a word of warning Sasuke went through the door, his curiosity peaked.

"Uh, Sasuke, that's only the second…" The door shut behind him, "Why do I bother?" she quietly asked herself as she and Rezano followed their enigmatic team member.

Stepping into the corridor all three of them noticed the sign above a classroom door, it was labelled 301. "How can that be room 301?" Rezano leaned in to whisper to the Nara. "It's because it isn't," Sasuke surprisingly answered. "He's right," Meshikamaru nodded, "We're only on the second floor, that's room 201."

The sound of a fist striking flesh reminded Sasuke why he'd been drawn here. There was a crowd of people massing around the door to classroom 201. Sasuke pushed a path through the crowd, Rezano and Meshikamaru following in his wake.

Pushing their way to the front they were greeted by the sight of two older Shinobi standing in front of the door and a kid dressed in a green jumpsuit, Konoha Hitai-ate around his waist, flat on his ass seemingly having been knocked over, a mean looking scuff mark on his cheek. A girl with her hair tied up in two buns took a few steps forward, "Please… We're begging you… Let us in."

*SMACK*

Her head recoiled to the right, one of the two baring their way had backhanded her with some force. She landed on the wooden floor hard next to the kid in the jumpsuit who was quickly back on his feet to see to her, _'In the same team I guess,_ ' Rezano assumed.

"Don't misunderstand us," the one who'd struck her said, "We're doing you a service, you should be thankful. The Chūnin Exams will be the most difficult thing you've attempted so far, we should know, this is our fourth attempt. We've seen careers ended, limbs crippled and lives lost."

"Besides that," his companion picked up," Chūnin are expected to be commanders, they're expected to lead others. Any and all failures and fatalities rest upon their shoulders and they must be ready to accept such responsibilities. We're just saving some the trouble by weeding out the truly hopeless beforehand."

"That's all well and good, in theory. But there are those of us who aren't the usual riff-raff," Sasuke arrogantly declared. "Nor does it answer the obvious question," Meshikamaru followed up. Both of the older Shinobi glared at a smug Sasuke, "And what, little lady, might that be?" one of the asked, their eyes never leaving Sasuke.

The Uchiha snorted, "No wonder this is your fourth attempt, you're standing beneath an illusion. It says 301, yet we're still on the second floor."  
"Oh, so you noticed that huh? Don't get too cocky, just seeing through it isn't enough.

He'd barely finished the final syllable when the unnamed Genin made his move, planting his hands to the floor he swung his leg horizontally at Sasuke. The Uchiha brought a leg of his own up to block.

Neither leg connected, however, both were stopped dead – by the kid in the green jumpsuit. In just a split second he'd appeared between them and blocked both their kicks. ' _Okay, that was an impressive display of speed,_ ' Meshikamaru admitted.

' _He blocked my kick… But what's up with his chakra?_ ' wondered a bewildered Sasuke, normally one used chakra to soften blows by focusing it on the zones of impact, in this case, jumpsuit kid's hand. It meant you could feel the chakra softening the hit but Sasuke couldn't feel any.

"Lee. What are you doing?" a new demanded to know, they sounded annoyed whoever they were. The now named Lee released his grip the two Genin's legs and stood from his squatted stance, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

"Wasn't it you who insisted on playing it low key and not drawing attention to ourselves?" This latest arrival was clearly a Hyūga thanks to the large white-Violet eyes their clan was instantly recognisable for. The girl with the hair buns placed a hand on each of their shoulders, "Alright you two, let's get out of here, we're going to be late otherwise."

The Hyūga looked away as he shook her hand from his shoulder, his white-Violet eyes meeting the black of Sasuke's. "What are you looking at, Uchiha?" he challenged. "You and your sorry looking teammates, Hyūga," he spat. The bun-haired girl scowled at him but otherwise held her silence.

Rolling her eyes Meshikamaru gave Sasuke a firm push on the shoulder blade. Turning his head to look at her, "Wind your neck in and start walking, lest you want to be late," she ordered. Begrudgingly Sasuke complied pushing his way through the crowd once more. "Rezano, let's go," the Nara barked at him. With a nod, he followed too.

"Rezano? So that's the Hokage's son?" Tenten said aloud, loud enough to get the crowds collective attention, a series of hushed words and whispers broke out as the crowd finally began to disperse. "Neji, Lee. We'd better go too or we'll be late… Lee, where are you going?" Tenten finished with a sigh. Why were her teammates so difficult to keep an eye on?

"The Uchiha?" she asked Neji, "The Uchiha," he replied. She sighed again.

-(*)-

"So where are we going exactly?" a bemused Kurotsuchi asked. "I already told you, the Jōnin Standby Station," Naruto replied. She blinked in surprise, "You mean you weren't joking? Am I even allowed in there?" she questioned him given she was a foreign Shinobi.

"Yeah, you'll be fine," he reassured her, "Besides it's just the Standby Station, we're hardly dropping by the ANBU building in which case neither of us is getting past the lobby," he laughed.

"Good point… But someone will kick up a fuss, surely?"  
"Maybe. But you're a guest under my care and a Jōnin in your own right. They have no legitimate reason to deny you access."

Slowing to a near stop he turned to look her in the eyes, "If anyone does give you any trouble then tell me." She looked about to complain but he silenced her by holding up a hand, "I know full well you are more than capable of looking after yourself but I don't want you to get yourself into trouble because some moron wouldn't shut their mouth so you decided to shut it for them."  
"Oh come on, I'm not that bad," she complained.

"No, not all the time. But I'll be damned if my charge gets harassed on my watch."  
"You know, Naruto-san, you're taking your duties very seriously. Are you sure that's the only reason you're being so… protective?" she asked all too sweetly, an innocent smile to go with it. "Not the only reason no," he grinned. "And what might those other reasons be?"

Lowering his voice to a whisper he answered, "Well, I want to make a good impression. The Iwa Kunoichi they've got me looking after is an absolute babe." She snorted in laughter and she playfully pushed him, "Shut up."

-(*)-

Meshikamaru really tried, she honestly, truly did but she couldn't stop herself from laughing as the kid in a jumpsuit, who'd introduced himself as Rock Lee, seemed to rather easily smack the Uchiha around a bit.

And the words he'd used to initially get Sasuke's attention. ' _ **Hey, you with the scowl… Wait up!'**_

' _Ha! Brilliant,_ ' she chuckled as Sasuke was forced to raise his arms in an X in front of him to block another kick.

' _This Lee guy is definitely quick though._ ' He'd introduced himself to Sasuke and then immediately challenged him to a fight and Sasuke being the arrogant baka that he was simply couldn't refuse. ' _Perhaps we'll get lucky and this'll teach him humility…_ ' she spotted his eyes spinning up his Sharingan, _'Or maybe not…_ ,' she bemoaned as Sasuke went on the offensive.

*BAM*

' _Or maybe yes…_ ' she quickly changed her mind.

One moment Lee had been stood still, his left hand tucked unseen behind his body, his right hand held out flat, palm up, in front of him. The next he was crouched down within Sasuke's guard, the sole of his right sandal connecting heavily with the underside of Sasuke's jaw. The Uchiha's head snapping back violently, the impact lifting him clean off the ground into the air.

Lee flickered from view, instantly reappearing beneath a still rising Sasuke. The Uchiha was confused, how had he gotten that hit off so easily? "You're probably wondering why your Sharingan isn't helping you, right?" Sasuke tensed, his eyes had seen the attack coming but…

"It is true your eyes allow you to understand and see through Ninjutsu and Genjutsu but you realise already, this is neither. And yes it's true your eyes allow you increased perception, but it doesn't matter. Your body simply can't react fast enough to act on what your eyes see," Lee explained.

As he spoke Lee had loosened the wrappings around his left hand, it now trailed beneath him for several feet. He was just about to wrap it around Sasuke when he felt a sudden jerk. Searching for the source he found what looked like a Senbon with a paper windmill on the end, it had pinned the end of his wrappings to the wall.

Lee paled, he recognised that kind of Senbon. "That's enough, Lee!" a deep voice shouted. Looking over he saw a giant tortoise.

' _Wait, a giant tortoise… Why is there a giant tortoise?_ ' Meshikamaru questioned, her and Rezano looking blankly at one another. It's shell segments had swirl patterns and it wore a Konoha Hitai-ate around its neck.

With his attention torn elsewhere and the end of his wrappings anchored to the wall below Lee and Sasuke found themselves falling as gravity reasserted itself. He rapidly unwound the remained of the wrappings before pulling his legs in spinning several times and landing safely on his feet.

A still dazed Sasuke wasn't able to do the same, Rezano shot forward worried he'd land head first on the stone tiled floor. Sliding across the floor he just managed to get himself between Sasuke and the floor, the impact greatly reduced.

Although still dazed he stood and pushed Rezano away, he swayed from side to side a little uneasy on his feet. Meshikamaru let out a deep breath, this whole affair had delayed them at least another five minutes and she highly doubted they'd be allowed to compete if Sasuke had cracked his head open on the ground like an egg.

Meanwhile, Lee kneeled before the very irate looking tortoise, "You know the rules, Lee. That move is forbidden, and for good reason!" it chastised him, Lee's head was bowed. "I…I,"

"Silence! You think I care for whatever feeble excuse you can conjure up!" it said gruffly before taking a deep breath.

"You know how dangerous that technique is, it's why you are banned from using it," is said in a calmer voice. "And did you even stop to consider the repercussions of your actions? You happily explained away your advantage, flagrantly giving away your advantage." Lee winced in realisation.

Lee looked like he was on the verge of tears, ' _What a disgrace… Losing to… to that!'_ , Sasuke grumbled as the grogginess continued to subside.

"I hope you're ready, Lee."  
"Y-yes sir," he quietly said. "Alright then, Gai-kun, he's all yours."

*Poof*

Atop the tortoise's shell, a large cloud of smoke appeared from nowhere. With a wave of an arm from whoever was within the smoke was scattered revealing…

"Okay, that's just scary," Meshikamaru uttered. "The hair… The eyebrows… The Jumpsuit…"  
"The Leg Warmers…" Sasuke finished for Rezano.

They were disturbed because this adult looked identical to Lee, or Lee looked identical to him. The three of them continued muttering to one another. That Lee got completed floored by one hell of punch from who they presumed was his Sensei didn't even register.

"S-Sensei…" Lee said quietly, his voice brimming with emotion. "That's enough Lee," Gai said kneeling down in front of his young protégée. "We all make mistakes, Lee. And to learn from mistakes you first need to make them. I understand you're young, the same thing happened to me when I was your age."

Gai stood, Lee along with him. "But you broke one of my big rules and you will be punished for it, but that can wait until after the exams, understand?"  
"Y-yes, sir." With a firm nod, Gai looked over at Team 7. "Say, you three. How's Kakashi-kun been lately?" They all blinked dumbly for a few moments, caught a little off-guard by his addressing them. "Uh… Fine, I guess," Meshikamaru answered, "You a friend of his?"

She blinked… And he was gone.

"Hmm, while yes, it would be more accurate to call us rivals," his voice said, only now it was directly behind them. They each stiffened, slowly turning their heads to find him rubbing his chin between his finger and thumb. Gai laughed at the looks on their faces, "The score is 50 to 49 – in my favour," he said pointing his thumb at himself.

"Apologies for my over-eager Genin, sometimes he gets a little carried away.." Then he was gone again.

"You all might want to hurry up now, the Exams start shortly," he said now atop the tortoise once again. Striking a ridiculous pose he shouted, "Youth!" before being shrouded in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared he and the tortoise was gone.

Meshikamaru recovered first and practically dragged her two comrades along with her but not before she noticed Lee replacing his wrappings around his left hand. Quickly reaching a flight of stairs she spoke, "Either of you two see Lee-san's hand?"  
"Yeah…" Rezano replied. "And? So what?"  
"It's the condition they were in, looked scuffed and bruised to hell, I think I even saw a few stitches behind the knuckles. Do you have any idea how hard you have to train to leave your hands in that condition and still maintain full mobility in your fingers?"

Despite his tendency for arrogance, Sasuke kept quiet. He could at least understand the point she was making.

Finally reaching the third floor after their delays they were surprisingly greeted by Kakashi who seemed to have been waiting for them. "Ah, there you are," he chirped, although he raised the eyebrow hidden behind his Hitai-ate at the scuff marks on Sasuke's clothing. ' _What happened there I wonder?_.'

"I glad to see you all decided to compete. Remember I wouldn't have put your names forward if I didn't think you were ready." In the back of her mind, Meshikamaru doubted that.

"So get in there," he said hiking a thumb over his shoulder at the plain double doors behind him, a sign with 301 above them, "And impress," he said finally.

Stepping to the side his three Genin walked past him. Meshikamaru, either boy stood either side of her, pressed a hand on each door, "Okay you two, let's do this," she said before pushing them open.

The doors swung closed behind them, a light wooden thump as they shut again. With a quiet, deep breath Kakashi shunshined away.

-(*)-

"Huh, you know, this place is a plushier than ours, Kurotsuchi remarked looking around the open circular room. As a whole the room was rather plain, circular rows of sofa's occupied most of the central space, a large, healthy plant dead centre. A wide outer ring was devoid of any furniture or furnishings.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "It is?" he asked looking around the mostly threadbare room, how bad must their Standby Station be? "Oh yeah, yours isn't situated within a hollowed out spire of rock with everything made from stone. There's no insulation too, do you have any idea how cold winters can get in Iwa?"

"Uh… No," Naruto replied. His mind replaying his memories of Konoha's winters, how brief they were, how mild they tended to be. It could go three, maybe four years without snow. The village was situated far enough south to avoid the weather fronts that came southwards from Yuki no Kuni (Land of Snow).

Sure there was more than enough moisture to drive smaller inland storms but they didn't get much chance to build either. The terrain of Hi no Kuni was blanketed with trees, trees which were amongst the largest in the world, and occasionally the mostly flat terrain was broken up by sudden changes in elevation. The winds never got a chance to build into storms.

"I didn't think so and you don't want to, it's absolutely freezing but of course we're a Shinobi run village so simple things like insulation go ignored…" She actually sounded pretty annoyed Naruto thought given her tone of voice.

Their discussion on winter differences was stopped there as Naruto heard his name. "Hey, Naruto-san! Why don't you two come join us."

Looking over he could spy Kurenai's distinctive bright red eyes set against her black hair, she was waving them over. Naruto always wondered how, despite it being black, her hair seemed several tones lighter than Tri's or Itachi's.

"What the general rule of thumb for interacting here?" Kurotsuchi quietly asked him as he led them over. "Fairly informal, if we know each other well enough we tend to dispose of Honorifics. I'd suggest you stick with 'san', however."  
"Ok, thanks."

"Kurenai, how are you?" he asked with a slight nod of the head. "I'm well, thank you."  
"And you, Asuma?" he asked the Sarutobi sat next to her. "I'm good, kid," he replied, a lit cigarette in his mouth. "Is it just you two?" he next asked taking a spot of the sofa opposite them.

"Kakashi and Gai will be here eventually, I think they wanted to stop by the Academy to make sure their teams got there alright. The Exam is about to start so they shouldn't be much longer."  
"Fair enough… Anyway, introductions. Kurotsuchi-san, this is Yūhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma, two Jōnin-sensei whose squads are taking part today."

The Iwa Kunoichi briefly shook each of their hands, she also slightly eyed up Asuma, something he noticed. Naruto leaned in, "Yes, he's the son of 'that' Sarutobi," he said in reference to the Sandaime Hokage. Her eyes dropped as a little flush of embarrassment crossed her face, "Sorry," she muttered sitting down next to Naruto, Asuma just chuckled.

"Don't worry about it, besides I'm hardly the first relative of a Hokage you've met. Speaking of which, from one Hokage's son to another, where's your brother, Naruto? I thought he'd of been here or something considering how mind-numbingly bored he said he'd been."  
"I'm not entirely sure where he is, to be honest. He did mention something about the second test, maybe he's keeping an eye on it or something."  
"Masked?" Asuma asked, Naruto shrugged, "I wouldn't have thought so, there's plenty of them around already."

"Well he's hardly the most predictable of Shinobi is he," Kurenai grinned, Naruto and Asuma's grins joining hers. Kurotsuchi felt like she was missing something, "Okay, I'll bite. What inside joke am I missing?"  
"She's referring to how unpredictable Tri-kun can be," Naruto answered. "Even though he planned meticulously he has a spontaneous streak, particularly when he's emotional."  
"Spontaneous how?" He thought on that a few moments before something came to mind.

"Okay, so a few years ago Tou-san wanted to see how far me, Itachi-kun and Tri-kun had developed after our stints in the Jūnishi."  
"And he wanted to trial run the new stadium," Asuma added. Naruto pointed at him, "Yes, that too. The three of us had one on one spars against prominent village Jōnin. I had Yamato-san, Itachi-kun fought Kakashi-san and Tri-kun fought…"  
"Me!" Asuma whooped before Kurenai playfully clipped him around the head, much to the younger Jōnin's great amusement.

"Yeah… So cutting the story short, Asuma here was able to beat Tri-kun and then Jiraiya-sama said something that insulted Genma-sensei."  
"Why?" she asked wondering how one of the Sannin fitted into this. "Firstly, you need to understand, Tri-kun and Jiraiya-sama hate one another."  
"Wait… Really?" She had not been expecting that. "Oh yeah," Asuma said, "Properly loath each other."

Naruto nodded, "It was real hate at first sight… Anyway, despite losing to Asuma here, Tri-kun didn't appreciate him insulting Genma-sensei, so he immediately challenged Jiraiya-sama."  
"He… actually challenged a Sannin?" she asked incredulously. "Uh huh, and at times he made Jiraiya look a right fool, Tri-kun is very good at dictating fights and Jiraiya-sama rather stupidly let him dictate it."  
"H-he didn't actually win, did he?"  
"No, no. Tou-san ended it when they started getting out of control."

"What do you mean out of control?"  
"They were seconds away from flattening the entire arena..."

Her eyes bugged out a little. "Tri-kun had managed to get a chakra drain seal on Jiraiya which forced him to resort to Senjutsu in a bid to end it immediately. Tri-kun's reply was to resort to a Jutsu I and Itachi had forbidden him from ever using. After everything calmed down, Jiraiya-sama got one hell of a telling off and Tri-kun got suspended."

"I… Wow, I – what is that rumbling?" The others lifted their ears to listen and indeed there was a rumble growing steadily louder. "Oh, that'll be Kakashi and Gai," Asuma said. "Sounds like they're doing another challenge."  
"Challenge?"  
"It's something Kakashi and Gai do," Naruto leaned in to explain, "They're one another's rivals even if Kakashi won't admit it. Every now and then they do some sort of challenge, this would seem to be the latest one."

The doors leading out onto a balcony to the Standby station burst open and in flew the mask-clad Kakashi a mere fraction of a second before Gai did. Kakashi skidded to a halt stopping just before the sofa while Gai's momentum took him into and then over the sofa barely missing Asuma as he landed on the floor.

"I win Gai, that makes the score 50 to 50," Kakashi declared hopping over onto the sofa lightly landing next to Kurenai, his little book already in hand.

Gai stood again and flamboyantly pointed at Kakashi, "Don't you worry, next time I'll best you and retake the lead my dear rival!" After a few moments Kakashi calmly looked up from his book, "Sorry, Gai, you say something?"  
"Oooo, Kakashi" You and that hip attitude!" Gai shouted, his enthusiasm unwavering.

Kurotsuchi simply watching on baffled by everything she'd just witnessed, ' _This is so fucking surreal._ '

-(*)-

' _Well… Don't I feel popular right now,_ ' Meshikamaru thought as everyone turned their heads to stare at the latest arrivals. In return, she carried a blank, emotionless expression on her face not wanting to show the small bout of nerves she currently felt. Her teammates held similar expressions. ' _This is why I wanted to get here early. So I could do the staring,_ ' she griped.

Casting her blank gaze across the room she spied Konoha, Ame, Suna, Taki Hitai-ates amongst a few others she couldn't make out. Amassed in one corner were the teams from Iwagakure, positioned as far away from the plates of metal signifying Konoha and Suna Genin.

"Sasuke-kun!" an all too familiar female voice cheered, a blur of platinum blonde clashing against the Uchiha's jet black as she practically jumped on Sasuke's back, all too eager to nuzzle her head against his. ' _Oh joy, I have to deal with Ino already too…,_ ' she bemoaned her poor luck so far this morning.

Yamanaka Ino had been Sasuke's number one fangirl back in the Academy, at times she was utterly unbearable so as amusing as the scowl on Sasuke's face was Meshikamaru kind of felt sorry for him. He'd had to put up with Ino sat next to him every day at the Academy and heaven forbid if you took that seat instead of her…

"If you could stop trying to glue yourself to my teammates Ino-san. I'm going to need him at some point," she drawled. Ino and Sasuke both scowled but for differing reasons while Rezano quietly snickered. Sasuke hated the glutton of fangirls he'd been borderline harassed by at the Academy and Ino was the worst offender. The long-haired girl, of course, was too busy trying to nuzzle him to notice she was the source of his ire.

"I see you eventually managed to find your way… Was expecting you to be the first here," a bored voice said to her. Turning from the sorry sight of Sasuke trying to get rid of Ino she answered, "And if my teammate here wasn't so damned popular with apparently everyone… Then we might have been," she replied to a boy with his hair tied up giving it the appearance of a pineapple.

He snorted in reply, "Why? Your popularity weigh you down or something?" he asked sarcastically, his hands stuffed into his pockets as they usually were. "…That's not entirely inaccurate," she admitted looked back at her two fellow cell members, both the sons of highly important clans in the village, sure she was a Nara but her clan could be considered a step down from the Uchiha and such.

"But if my late arrival is a surprise to you, then you're turning up at all is a surprise to me," she verbally jabbed at him. To others it might have appeared they were bickering but that wasn't the case, the twins got along very well, the sarcastic, back-and-forth and seemingly rude manner in which they spoke to one another was just how they interacted.

"Eh, I thought about it but if Kaa-san found out she'd yell at me and it's just too much trouble to deal with – Mendokusē." His words were intermittently punctuated by the sounds of eating, an ever-present noise where Akimichi Choji could be found and Choji could always be found at Shikamaru's side.

A giggle drew their attention back to Ino who was now trying to hold Sasuke's head against her upper torso which at 13 years old was just weird. Sasuke himself looked like he about ready to give up on life.

A short, high-pitched yapping noise made Meshikamaru's shoulders sag, "Mendōkusai…," she muttered under her breath, Shikamaru laughed, he always found it funny when she borrowed his catchphrase especially since she didn't do so lightly.

The yapping came closer announcing the arrival of yet another headache for her – Kiba. "So you guys are here too, good, wouldn't want people to question who the best of the 'rookie nine' is if only six of them take part," he said, that trademark toothy grin on his face. Kami how she hated that grin and his empty bravado, all talk – little action.

Inuzuka Kiba was flanked on either side by his two teammates, both of which she thought quite highly of. The first, Aburame Shino she considered a friend, he rarely spoke preferring instead to listen and only occasionally weight in on matters but rarely with his actual opinion and usually only when directly asked. She gave a polite nod in his direction, he reciprocated the action.

The second was Hyūga Hinata who may have also been the shyest person Meshikamaru had ever met, like Shino she got along well with her but she was more a 'friend of a friend' thanks to her strong friendship with Rezano. And speaking of Rezano she still struggled to hide her crush on him judging by the red tint on her cheeks.

"H-Hi everyone," she quietly greeted, so quietly in fact that several of the nine simply didn't hear her. Rezano wasn't one of them giving her a bright smile and a wave, actions she returned amidst a deepening blush.

Meanwhile, Kiba had started poking fun at Sasuke since he still hadn't managed to get free of Ino. All in all the collective noise the nine of them were making was steadily increasing.

"Hey, would you all kindly do the rest of the room a favour and shut the hell up," an older voice said abruptly cutting them all off mid-sentence.

Detaching from what looked like his own team and walking up to them was a Konoha nin with glasses, Hitai-ate around his forehead. Judging by appearances he was a few years older than them, perhaps sixteen or seventeen.

"You lot really need to pay attention, so I'd suggest you all wise up and fast."  
"And why's that?" Sasuke challenged having used this newcomers distraction to finally break free of Ino's deceptively strong grasp, it seemed to have really strained his patience though because a fair amount of anger slipped through in his voice.

They held their hands in mock surrender, "Hey, I'm just trying to give you a heads up," he said. "It's not me you need to worry about but all of them," he said pointing at the rest of the room. Followed the direction his hand pointed they found pretty much the entire room glaring menacingly at them.

"Watch out for those right in front of you," he said walking closer deciding to have a little fun with them, "They're from Amegakure and are notorious for having short fuses."  
"Uhh… Thanks – I guess… Who are you?" Rezano asked. "Names Kabuto and as I said, best open your eyes quickly lest this lot lose what little patience they have. This ain't no school trip so I thought I'd give you a heads up, wouldn't one someone to snap and beat the crap of you."

"I take it your speaking from experience then?" Meshikamaru asked with a straight face. "Why y… Oh very clever you almost caught me out there," he commended. After what he'd just said her question had a double-entendre answer. "Yes in the sense that I've taken the Exam before, not in that someone took their frustrations out on me," he said in clarification.

"Guessing by your age this is your third, fourth attempt?"  
"Afraid not, this is my seventh…"  
"Seventh…?" many of them repeated in disbelief. "Yup, twice a year for nearing four years. Suffice to say, I know what I'm talking about."  
"Is that right? Any titbits you care to share?" Meshikamaru asked. Kabuto stared her down, she held his gaze without issue. "You know what, sure. Maybe it'll make the difference and get you through these Exams in one piece."

He knelt down, his hand fished around in his hip pouch and pulled out what looked like a deck of enlarged playing cards. "Gather round newbies I'm gonna share a few things with you. It's taken me years to mass the information held in these cards, you should consider yourself lucky, I don't exactly show them to everybody."

Rezano managed to catch a glimpse of one of the cards, "Uh Kabuto-san, are your cards supposed to be blank?"  
"Blank you say, are you sure?" he asked placing one face up on the ground and lightly tapping it with his fore and middle fingers. Ink began appearing on the card, the ink formed into lines and words and soon enough a miniature map of the Elemental nations greeted them.

"Invisible ink?" Shikamaru guessed, Kabuto chuckled. "Wrong answer but right idea."  
"Is it chakra? Ya' know since you only touched the card." This time he nodded, "It is indeed chakra. The information I've gathered over the years I transform into symbols and burn into these cards with chakra. Without chakra, the information remains secret but only my own personal chakra signature acts as the key."  
"So it's some sort of Fūinjutsu?" Rezano presumed, Kabuto having mentioned symbols. "Yeah, pretty much."

With his explanation complete they all looked down at the card, the map of the Elemental Nations was underlined by a few brief bursts of text. Each was a village name and was followed by a number, the corresponding number detailed how many Shinobi that village had sent:

Iwagakure: 27  
Sunagakure: 30  
Amegakure: 21  
Kusagakure: 6  
Takigakure: 6  
Konohagakure: 87  
Otogakure: 3

All in all there was one hundred and eighty Genin participating.

"As you might expect, Konoha being the 'home team' means they have the larger number of participants but it's a big turnout this time around, certainly the largest of the seven I've been to. I've info on how each village tends to train its Shinobi, certain techniques, common styles…"

"Kabuto-san," Meshikamaru partially interrupted, "Do you have cards on individuals as well as entire villages?" she wondered. He was a little surprised by her request so it took him a moment or two to respond, "Sure, I should have something on most of the competition. Do you have anyone particular in mind?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I do," Sasuke butted in, "Rock Lee from Konoha and Gaara from Sunagakure."  
"Oh good, you know their names, that greatly simplifies matters." Shuffling through his cards he soon fished two out and placed them on the ground.

Quickly tapping one of them, implanting a small amount of chakra revealed a picture of Lee. "Ok, first up Rock Lee. Graduated last year so he's a year older than you lot. To date has 78 completed missions, 67 D-Rank and 11 C-Rank, a decent tally for a year. He's primarily a Taijutsu user with almost no notable skills in other fields, that's kinda odd. Sensei is Maito Gai and teammates are Tenten and Hyūga Neji."

Unseen by any of them, Hinata flinched at the mention of Neji's name.

"Only Taijutsu…" Sasuke grumbled, the frustration of being beaten by Lee morphing into something more akin to shame. "Yup," an oblivious Kabuto chirped, "This is also his first exams, despite being considered a standout he and his teammates never applied," he added before tapping the second card.

A small picture of the same boy Sasuke had stared down last week appeared. "Alright, Gaara or Sabaku no Gaara if you prefer, a nickname I guess."  
"Just get on with," an impatient Sasuke grumbled, Kabuto shot him an irritated look but didn't say anything. "

At the top left of the page was the symbol of Sunagakure indicating his village affiliation, next to the that was the emblem for Kaze no Kuni. A picture was flanked by info detailing age, graduation age, teammates amongst other things. Below the picture was a textbox, empty apart from a gourd similar to the one Gaara wore.

Most of the space that remained was dominated by a large pentagon split into five equally sized sections. Each section was individually titled: Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Ninja Tools, Genjutsu and Kekkei Genkai. This was where the two info sheets greatly differed, the pentagon on Lee's sheet was partially filled in easily highlighting his skill in Taijutsu whereas Ninjutsu and Genjutsu were almost empty. Gaara's, on the other hand, featured only a question mark.

"I guess it's harder to find info on foreign Shinobi?" Shikamaru asked and Kabuto nodded, "Yes, especially when they're still in the early stages of their career, despite that I think I've done quite well."

And finally tucked away at the cards bottom right-hand corner was the Shinobi's mission tally divided by mission ranking.

"Mission total is unknown," Kabuto said looking down at Gaara's card. "But I was able to find out he and his team have completed 8 C-Ranks and a B-Rank, to be fair that B-Rank is actually impressive. Teammates are his brother and sister who are one and two years older respectively. Also says here that Gaara has returned from every mission unscathed."  
"What do you mean 'unscathed'?"  
"Unscathed as in he's never been injured," he bluntly answered the question.

Looking up Kabuto looked across the room, "Konoha, Suna, Ame, Kusa, Iwa and Oto. Every village has sent the best of their next generation."  
"What do you know about this Otogakure? I've never heard of them."  
"A brand new hidden village from what I can gather based in Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Paddies) which is strange in and of itself, Ta no Kuni is little more than a backwater."

"Hey, Kabuto-san…" Kiba began as he continued to look at the cards, "I was wondering. Do you have info cards on other Shinobi, ya' know, ones not competing in the Exams."  
"Maybe… If they're well known enough, care to be more specific."

Kiba grinned as he roughly wrapped his arms around the necks of both Rezano and Sasuke, earning him the irritated grumbling of both. "I wanna know what the standards I have to surpass are and these two's brothers set that standard." The moment he said 'brothers' Sasuke demeanour immediately darkened while Rezano rolled his eyes.

"Names Kid… I need names," Kabuto said. "Uchiha Itachi, Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto and Uzumaki Tri," Kiba said, his voice boisterous as it normally was, so much so that some of the other nearby Shinobi heard him speak the names, their curiosity perked up as a result. "The so-called Prodigal Three, eh? Fairly famous Konoha Shinobi, I should definitely have something on them."

Picking up Gaara and Lee's cards Kabuto shuffled them back into the deck before beginning his search. Meanwhile, Shikamaru leaned in close to his sister, now stood next to the quiet Hinata. "What with the look on their faces?" he asked referring to Rezano and Sasuke.

Meshikamaru was actually beaten to the punch in answering by Hinata, "Rezano-kun doesn't like being compared to his brothers," she quietly explained, something Kabuto silently found very curious as he logged that little scrap of info away for another day. "And Sasuke?"  
"Sasuke just doesn't like his brother…," Meshikamaru answered as Kabuto fished out the last of the three cards.

"Ok, who do we have first?" he wondered tapping the card. The card soon possessed a picture of Naruto, "Naruto it is then. Jōnin, graduated aged ten, Chūnin at eleven – that's impressive, then became a Shugonin Jūnishi for three years," Kabuto said reading off details.

Below Naruto's picture, the textbox was filled with the picture of two swords, "Holds two swords of growing renown, Kagizume and Kuchibashi. Highly skilled in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Kenjutsu, possesses the Mokuton Kekkei Genkai…" Kabuto ground to a halt.

' _How the fuck did I miss that!?"_ he mentally screamed in alarm, _'How did I miss the fact that the Hokage's son! Has Mokuton. Does Orochimaru-sama know?'_ So many hours went into planning and they had somehow overlooked a detail as important as this one, what else had they possibly missed?

' _I need to look over all the Konoha cards I have in detail, just in case there's something else we missed._ '

"Mission record is impressive for his age," Kabuto said picking up where he left off seamlessly. "63 D-Rank, 51 C-Rank, 37 B-Rank, 22 A-Rank and a single S-Rank."

Some of the arrogance had fallen from Kiba's face, the number of D-Ranks Naruto had completed in around the same time-span whilst being two years younger substantially outnumbered his own. Up till now, his team had only 12 D-Ranks, where had they found the time to do so many missions in-between training sessions?

Kabuto moved on to the next card, with the other two said to be in ANBU Kiba wasn't sure he wanted to see their records anymore. "Next up is Itachi," he said. "Same as before, graduated at ten, Chūnin by eleven, three years as a Jūnishi. That's one full graph, guess he ranks highly across the board." Sure enough, the pentagon was nearly completely filled in. "In addition possesses the Sharingan and also has a pretty stacked mission record, less C's and B's but far more A's and S-Ranks."

No one interrupted with anything to say so Kabuto tapped the third card to reveal Tri's picture. "And finally Tri, same early years but did a fourth year with the Jūnishi. Overall highly skilled, not to the extent of Itachi it seems but is considered by some to be a Fūinjutsu master despite his young age. Possesses two Kekkei Genkai, a true rarity both the Sharingan and Shakuton. Jeez, his mission record is even more top heavy… Twenty t… How has he completed Twenty-two S-Ranked missions!?" he asked in astonishment.

Meshikamaru looked at Rezano to see if he had an answer but he shrugged his shoulders, he didn't know.

Shikamaru was glancing across all three cards when he noticed something, "Kabuto-san, why does Naruto-san have a number next to total missions but the other two just have a question mark?" Pulled out of his astoundment he looked down and he was right, Itachi and Tri's records had a question mark whereas Naruto's read 174.

Kabuto thought on it a moment, patting a finger against his lips, "It may be classified missions."  
"Classified missions?" Hinata quietly repeated not understanding. "Yeah, does anybody know some of the rules behind the dispersal of missions in Konoha?"  
"All missions must be listed on a Shinobi's record," Meshikamaru said reciting a passage she recalled reading on rules and regulations. "Exactly," Kabuto said.

"But if they have to go on record, how are they classified," Hinata asked. "And you've hit upon the crux of the issue, by their very nature classified missions must remain secret but as sanctioned missions must also be listed on a Shinobi's record. As you can tell this leads to a contradiction."

"But by putting a question mark on the total mission tally you can fulfil both requirements by hiding it in plain sight," Meshikamaru said in as it clicked in her head. "Bingo," Kabuto grinned although in his mind it was a different story. ' _Missed Kekkei Genkai, undertaking classified missions… Properly investigating these three should be one of my main priorities._ '

"Would anyone oppose to our having a little fun with him?" a Shinobi quietly asked his two teammates. "Mm, that does sound like fun. After all, he was rather rude and his little information dossier seemed… lacking, referred to us as a backwater too… Let's make his ears ring."

As Kabuto picked up the cards and shuffled them back into the deck he stood. Putting them back in his pouch two of the three Oto trio made their move, a move that went unseen by most but not Kabuto who was fully aware of their true purpose in Konoha. They, however, were utterly unaware of his presence or purpose so while he saw them make their move he would do nothing.

Even after realising he was the target he would still do nothing, his cover had to remain intact, in fact, it would only strengthen his cover as one jumped high, the other stayed low weaving through the crowd of Genin separating them.

The one who'd gone high launched two kunai that looked more akin to thin daggers struck the floor just centimetres in front of him making him back. It also had the secondary effect of taking him out of his defensive stance leaving him wide open to the second. Time seemed to slow down for Kabuto as they were able to well within striking range. Pulling back his oversized sleeve revealed his entire lower right arm covered in some kind of metal device.

Whatever it was, it was swung at Kabuto's head but ultimately missed as he was able to lean back just enough to evade.

Knowing what to expect he wasn't surprised when the lens of his glasses cracked and shattered, thin shards of glass falling to the floor although the look on his face suggested otherwise as was intended. He was in the midst of taking his glasses off when the attack truly hit him.

His senses all at once went haywire, his ears began ringing, drowning out any other noise. His vision distorted until the room was spinning while his balance was thrown out of whack forcing him to drop to his knees. Then came the worst part as his stomach began to churn, ' _I hate this part…,_ ' he thought as his breakfast made its unwelcome return splattering over the floor.

As quickly as it had struck him normality returned to Kabuto's senses and he was able to hear voices, concerned voices calling his name. "Kabuto, hey Kabuto, you alright?" someone asked. "…Yeah, I-I'm fine," he replied. While some expressed concern for him, others were already analysing the attack.

"What the hell just happened?" Meshikamaru wondered, "Maybe he grazed him on the nose?" her twin suggested. "Maybe… But that doesn't explain why he threw up."  
' _He dodged that, I know he did, so what happened? Why did he throw up?_ ' Sasuke wondered.

"Wow, little wonder you've been doing this for four years, you're hopeless ain't ya?" one of them sneered.

Before anything else could kick off they were abruptly interrupted by a huge plume of smoke that engulfed nearly half the room. A deep, booming voice cut off any remaining chit-chat, "Would everyone kindly look this way and shut the fuck up!"

The smoke cleared to reveal a cluster of new arrivals, they were clearly older than the vast majority of the Genin in the room. They each wore identical clothing even down to the black belts around their waists. And front and centre of this group was a huge man with a full-length black Trenchcoat, black gloves and a black bandana, his Hitai-ate attached to the front. His face featured several long, deep scars that all together made for one intimidating appearance.

An evil grin crossed his face, "Sorry to keep you waiting. My name is Morino Ibiki and I'll be your Proctor for the first Exam."

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End Chapter


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

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 **Review Replies** :

 **GunBlade2018** : I have been putting quite a bit of thought into how to balance out the substantial power boost Konoha has compared to Canon not just for the second Exam by the Konoha Crush too. Thankfully I've had a few ideas that will hopefully help resolve it.

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The first Exam

The man before the assembled Genin could be considered a giant, he was huge, easily a head taller than the aids accompanying him. The now introduced Morino Ibiki raised a glove-clad hand and pointed at the three Oto nin. "You three. Cut it out or you can return home right now and explain how you got yourselves disqualified before the first test even began," he warned.

Ibiki, as the head of Konoha's T&I department, was one of the individuals pre-warned to keep an eye on anyone wearing the musical symbol Hitai-ate. "Sorry, sir," one of them said, his face obscured by wrappings. "It's our first exams and we're on edge so we got a little carried away," he attempted to justify. It was pretty obvious that his words were utterly insincere.

"Is that so? Then perhaps I ought to make it clear, anyone who engages in fighting not strictly permitted by the exam proctor will be expelled along with the rest of their team – no second chances," he told them. Ibiki's voice was a commanding one, many of the assembled Genin were now sat with backs straight.

"So this is a test for little girly men?" the second of the Oto males arrogantly asked. Ibiki levelled a blank, unimpressed stare at the teenager whose long spiky hair stood tall seemingly in defiance of gravity, 死, the kanji for death ("Shi") imprinted three times over the front of his uniform. The aids behind Ibiki sneered at the bravado.

"I'd watch your tone, boy. There are Kunoichi in this village who'll happily gut you for such a comment," Ibiki said coldly, an image of Anko's evil grin coming to mind as he turned his head bringing one of his aids into his view, the expression on her face blank, her pink hair tied back.

"So if you're done we'll begin the first part of the exams. Everyone is to see one of my aids," as Ibiki spoke the Chūnin split into two groups and lined up on either side of the room. "They will give you a piece of card with a number on it, as some of you will have noticed the desks are also numbered, the number you're given is where you'll sit. When you've all taken your seats we'll hand out the written test and I will explain the rules."

No one moved, all stood or sat stock still, a sight which some of the Chūnin found rather amusing. "Move!" he barked jolting them into action.

Rezano made for the nearest Chūnin and found himself stood in front of someone with pink hair, "Sakura-san?" he said in surprise, she grinned down at him, "I-I didn't know you were helping out."  
"And I wasn't until someone called in sick this morning," she answered with a wink before roughly shoving a piece of card into his hand, "Number," she grunted before turning to number another.

It was a rather abrupt and slightly rude interaction but Rezano could understand why, all the Chūnin were supposed to be as intimidating as possible as he took his seat. A test was placed face-down in front of him. In small letters at the top, it said 'Do not turn over until instructed'.

It was nearly five before everyone had been seated and all the tests handed out, despite Ibiki's words on the matter the Chūnin had had to dish out a few smacks around the back of the head to those who refused their seat.

It became quickly apparent to those who were paying attention that cells were being split up across the room. Ibiki wanted them isolated from possible help and make it harder to successfully cheat.

Most of the Genin looked around suspiciously, especially those sat next to Shinobi from rival villages, some likely convinced their neighbours intended to sabotage them. A few, like Rezano, were simply nervous, written tests weren't his strong suit, he could throw shuriken on curved trajectories fairly well but don't ask him to write out the arithmetic calculations behind it. And he had a feeling the questions on the piece of paper before him would be damned difficult.

Meshikamaru was a few rows back and to Rezano's left, he was unsure of exactly where but he knew Sasuke was behind him too. It put him beyond the help of the Nara's immense intellect, to his left was some Ame Kunoichi and to his right was… "Hinata," he quietly said. "Hi, Rezano-kun," she replied, her voice managing to even quieter than his.

"H-how are you feeling?" she politely asked him. "Ok, I guess. How about you?"  
"A little nervous," she admitted, her hands in her lap. "Don't worry, you'll be fine, you're more than smart enough for any old test," he reassured her patting a hand atop hers.

It was at that moment Rezano remembered the conversations with Naruto and Tri, the collective advice they'd given regarding the Hyūga sat next to him. He'd yet to act on any of that advice, it had been pushed from his mind in the run-up to the Chūnin Exams, a flicker of guilt crossed his mind.

It was a conversation that needed to happen, while it couldn't be now it didn't mean he couldn't set a time for it. "Hey, Hinata-chan. I was wondering, d-d you think we could have a talk? I mean after the exams are over."  
"Uh…," she hesitated. She didn't know what he wanted to talk about but her mind was giving her plenty of possibilities, some of which only worsened her already deepening blush.

"U-uh… S-sure," she managed at the second time of asking giving him her best smile. 'Wow, she's really pretty when she smiles like that. _Why is she blushing so mu… Oh,_ ' Rezano only then realised he'd left his hand on top of hers. His hand recoiled a little, "Gomen," he formally apologised, blushing a little himself. Both slightly looked away from one another but both secretly admitting to themselves that they enjoyed the hand to hand contact.

"Ok, listen up because I'm only going to explain this once and I won't be repeating it, I also ain't answering any questions. The rules."

Ibiki picked up a piece of white chalk intending to write out the rules as he explained them. "Rule number one. Each and every one of you will start the test with ten points, the test paper before you has ten questions. If you answer a question incorrectly or don't answer it at all then you will lose a point. So get all ten right and you'll finish with a perfect score, get all ten wrong you get zero, get zero then you're out.

"Rule number two. This test is still a team exercise so whether you pass or not is dependent on all three of you retaining as many of your thirty total points as possible.

"Now, listen real closely, this next rule is important," he said tapping the chalk against the blackboard. "Rule number three. If I or any of my aids observe you doing anything that we feel constitutes cheating, we will deduct you and both your teammates two points for six in total."

A good portion of the room now looked nervous, many glancing around, particularly at their teammates. "I'll be looking over your shoulder when you least expect it," Kotetsu menacingly said, a pencil and clipboard in hand ready to jot down any cheaters as he leaned back on his wooden chairs back legs.

Ibiki mentally chuckled, his test was working as intended already, getting into the heads, making them nervous.

"And finally, the fourth and most important rule of all. Remember this is a team based exercise so if just one of you finishes with zero points and fails, all three of you fail," Ibiki revealed with a grin. The air of nervousness in the room spiked as everyone found out they were responsible for more than just themselves. "

' _Perfect,_ ' Ibiki noted. "As Chūnin you must be able to pull your own weight. If you are dependent on others to carry you through missions then it's only a matter of time until your ineptitude gets somebody killed. You have one hour. Begin!"

The sounds of paper being handled and pencils being picked up filled the room as the Chūnin Exams officially got underway.

-(*)-

 **Konoha Jōnin Standby Station**

Naruto pouted as the others continued snickering and laughing, especially Kurotsuchi who was very much enjoying the humorous stories Asuma and Kurenai were regaled to her from the blondes younger years.

The tales regaled were accompanied by a backtrack of numbers, "198, 199, 200!" Gai cheered hopping to his feet, his press-ups complete. With barely time to breathe, he started again, "1, 2, 3…" he restarted, moving onto squats.

And while Kurotsuchi might have been listening to the stories but she was watching Gai, ' _He's not even short of breath after two hundred press ups…_ '

"Is that normal?" she asked those around her. "Uh huh, Gai's a workout fanatic."  
"Sure, but two hundred press ups and he's fine."  
"Two hundred is pretty mundane for Gai," Kakashi said from behind his book. "Mundane? Two hundred is mundane!?" she asked incredulously. "We are talking about a guy who does laps around the entirety of Konoha on his hands just for the hell of it."  
"Really?..." she questioned looking at Naruto, he nodded that it was. "One of his Genin usually joins him as well now."  
"Does he force the poor kid to join him or something?"  
"No, young Lee enjoys putting himself through the millstone just as much. Honestly, the enthusiasm he displays is kind of unnerving."

"Can't say…" he was cut off by a hand covering his mouth, "Naruto!" a loud female voice boomed in his ear. Kurotsuchi just watched on as an admittedly attractive Kunoichi dressed in little more than an open trenchcoat wrapped an arm around Naruto's neck to begin an impromptu wrestling match. She noted Asuma and Kurenai's laughter at the sight so didn't interfere.

"Anko! Let go of me," Naruto grunted as she tried to pull him over the back of the sofa to the floor below. It made for an amusing sight since Naruto was of far greater physical stature than Anko but despite that Naruto was already half over. With one big final pull then a twist Naruto landed on the floor, Anko falling on top of him as they disappeared from view.

Before Kurotsuchi could look over the back Anko scurried back to her feet and with a loud "whoop," hopped over landing where Naruto had just been sat, the fact that there was more than enough space for her to slot in between Naruto and Kakashi wasn't important nor was all the space on the other side of Kurotsuchi.

"I hate you, Anko," Naruto grumbled standing again. She turned her head, her face lit up, "Oh hey Naruto! Why do you look like you've been rolling on the floor?" she asked innocently. "Oh, I don't know, thought I'd see if the floor was comfy at all," he sarcastically replied. "What are you doing that for? There's plenty of space between me and Kakashi."

"Oh I don't know Anko, thought I'd find out if the floor is comfy," he sarcastically replied. "What are you doing that for? The sofa's much comfier and there's loads of room," she said pointing in particular at the free spot next to her. "You could have just sat next to me," she smirked.

"I really do hate you," he repeated but she just laughed at him, "No you don't, you just can't find it in you to hate me, I'm simply too awesome." It was now she looked Kurotsuchi's way spying the Iwagakure design on her Hitai-ate, "Ah, so you're the one Naruto has to follow around like a puppy," she grinned.

Silence… Everyone but Kurotsuchi was waiting for it, even Kakashi peeked over the top of his book. They were all waiting for whatever brazen comment Anko intended to make. But she only extended her hand, "Mitarashi Anko," she said introducing herself. "Kurotsuchi," she replied shaking her hand. That was it, no cheeky comments, no double entendres, nothing. "What?" Anko challenged them all having noticed their silence.

"Nothing, Anko," Kurenai responded. The T&I specialist's face lit up as if she hadn't noticed her old friend, "Kurenai!" she cheered launching herself at Kurenai and giving her a big hug. Naruto hoped back over the sofa putting Kurotsuchi between himself and Anko. Leaning in he spoke, "Anko's one of Konoha's more… unique personalities."

"I hear that!" she squawked indignantly which Naruto snorted at, "Oh please, you know it's true and don't you dare deny it."

-(*)-

 **Classroom 201**

' _And the first question is cryptography…_ ' Rezano groaned after turning over his paper only to be greeted by a complex looking cipher, the sounds of pencils etching onto paper quickly filling the room.

' _Ok,_ ' he thought, taking a breath, _'I can do ciphers but it'll take a while and just by looking at it I can tell it's a complex one. Let's come back to this cause' I could spend the entire hour trying to figure this out._ '

Moving on to question two he read it. ' _Ok, what the actual fuck? They expect us to be able to apply the laws of kinetics in scenarios with fluidic circumstances. Yeah… Skipping that one completely._ ' He could have wasted the entire hour answering this one and still not finish.

He read through question three, ' _Jeez, are they all this difficult?_ ' He read through all the questions. ' _Well fuck… I'm going to struggle to correctly answer more than three or four in the time limit and what's up with question ten?_ ' The tenth and final question wouldn't be provided until there were only fifteen minutes left.

He took another deep breath, ' _ok, let's start with question four, that I can answer._ ' It was a question on Fūinjutsu and he figured it wouldn't take him longer than a few minutes.

' _Thank you Kaa-san,_ ' he mentally cheered as pencil met paper. He'd always complained when Kushina had insisted he and Minusha at least learn rudimentary level Fūinjutsu. ' _Okay, identify and repair the fault in the array design._ '

Rezano immediately recognised the array design as an explosive tag that had been clearly modified to have a wider blast radius, ' _The chakra reservoir is much larger._ '

Carefully combing through the arrays he spotted the problem. Explosive tags had a built-in fuse that ignited when activating the chakra held in the reservoir. But the greater amount of chakra meant the fuse would burn faster and that was the fault, the larger reservoir hadn't been accounted for with a longer fuse. ' _The faster the fuse burns, the quicker it explodes. If you lit this design it would explode almost immediately…'_

He redesigned the fuse timer and quickly moved on to the next question he felt he could answer.

This one was pretty easy for him. ' _A Shinobi has a three-foot chain in hand, on the end of which is a standard-issue kunai. The Shinobi spins the chain at two rotations a second, calculate how fast the tip of the kunai is travelling. Show your work._ '

His primary weapon was a pair of chain kunai so this was right up his alley. He set to work laying out the mathematic formula and input the variables, he knew the exact weight of a standard-issue kunai and the centrifugal speed generated by spinning three feet of chain. Within just a few minutes he had the answer, doubling checking it he found no problems so with a small grin moved on.

And straight away he hit an obstacle. ' _Those were the only two questions I could quickly answer…_ ' That made him nervous, ' _Two isn't enough, Meshikamaru's more than smart enough to answer these but right now Sasuke would only have to be caught cheating once for me to reach zero points._ '

He looked up at the clock, ' _Twenty five minutes gone. Am I really going to have to put all my eggs in the question ten basket?_ ' It was a big risk but the questions that remain didn't fill him with much optimism. ' _I don't have long enough for questions one or two but maybe I do for seven… Okay let's go for it, I'll work on seven but immediately switch to ten when we get it._ '

He just hoped Sasuke didn't get caught cheating.

As for the young Uchiha, he was eyeing up some of the Chūnin around the room. He made eye contact with one of them, he gave them a scowl, they just grinned back, waving a pencil around.

' _These rats, almost all of us can't answer these questions, they're expecting us to cheat._ ' And looked around the room he could see he wasn't the only one to have reached that conclusion, some of the other Genin were already acting a little strangely.

' _Wonder how many have already been caught cheating?'_ he wondered. Almost as if on cue one of the Chūnin rose from their seat. "Number 28, you're done. Take your teammates and leave," they ordered. Genin number 28 was utterly gob-smacked, "B-but… what? How did you?"

"Leave!" the Chūnin snapped. Without another word three Genin rose from their seats and were escorted from the room, one looked dejected, the other two slightly annoyed.

The dismissal of a first Genin cell allowed the nervousness to return, they were being caught cheating and their strikes tallied.

' _Just look at how they set up the test. It's not a test to get as many points as possible, it's all about keeping enough to not get disqualified. It's why we started with ten points instead of zero, they expect us… no, want us to cheat. They aren't testing our knowledge, but our ability to gather knowledge covertly._

And right now around the room, there was a gluttony of cheating.

Gaara had formed a hand-seal in full view of the Chūnin and Ibiki but they couldn't mark him down as cheating unless they could confirm how exactly he was cheating. Unseen by everyone particles of sand slowly drifted across the room. It would take a little time but Sabaku no Gaara would soon have the answers.

Akamaru, from his higher vantage point atop Kiba's head, was scanning around the room then quietly yapping and barking Kiba the answers.

Shino, likewise, was utilising his companions from the animal kingdom. A small group of insects, mainly bees covertly flew around the room. Upon finding the answers they would return and fly in patterns denoting numbers and letters, literally spelling out the answers for him.

Their final cell member Hinata was able to answer a number of the questions. She had put together that cheating was required but was too nervous to activate her Byakugan, it was simply too obvious, right?

Tenten had somehow managed to attach a series of mirrors to the ceiling around a light fixture that was sunken into the ceiling and not get caught. Attached to each of the mirrors was an incredibly fine strand of wire, pulling on the wire allowed her to manipulate what reflected back off the mirrors surfaces. She was also keeping an eye on Lee a few rows in front of her, ' _Come on Lee, if you can see it make the signal…_ '

Lee looked up and spotted the mirrors around the large light bulb. He loosened the knot holding his Hitai-ate to his forehead and retied it, that was the signal Tenten was waiting for, he'd seen her mirrors. ' _Good, now I can get us both the answers,_ ' Tenten thought in relief.

Meanwhile, Neji didn't have the same reservations and concerns as Hinata in using his Byakugan. He removed his Hitai-ate and untied his hair pretending to scratch his scalp and forehead when instead he was using his hair to hide the pronounced veins around his eyes as he searched around the room for answers. Picking out one Genin in particular who was fervently scribbling down answers he began to copy them.

The sound trio all made use of sound waves. The rooms relative quiet allowed them to listen to the sound of pencils against paper, each letter or number made a distinctive sound. From this catalogue of unique sounds, they could copy answers from others.

Ino's method of cheating was far more invasive, with a grin on her face she formed a hand seal under the desk, ' _It's a good thing I don't have to aim at my target with my hands anymore, at least not at this range._ ' Without wasting another moment she used her families signature technique, the ability to cast her consciousness into the minds of others assuming temporary control of them. Her target, Meshikamaru.

With her consciousness gone her body entered a coma-like state. She startled the Genin sat next to her when her head hit the desk with a thud.

Her technique suppressed Meshikamaru's consciousness to the Nara's subconscious, only those with wickedly good willpower could throw off this Jutsu. With a gleeful cackle, she began memorising her answers. After she was done she would repeat the technique on Shikamaru to give him the answers. He would then, in turn, use his families signature Jutsu to get the answers to Choji.

As Asuma's Genin went about obtaining the answers Kankuro made his move. Standing he raised his hand. "What?" one of the Chūnin asked him. "I need to go to the bathroom," he said with a straight face. He was handcuffed and escorted by one of the Chūnin aids. ' _Hehe, they never noticed that there was one more Chūnin than there should be._ '

He had disguised his puppet 'scarecrow' as one of them and while he was in the bathroom it would hand over the answers which he'd memorise and write down on a scrap of paper.

Meanwhile, more and more teams were being weeded out. One became two, then four, eight. "Number 43, Number 27. You both fail," – that made thirteen.

Gaara's sand, formerly drifting across the room, began coalescing into a sphere beneath another Genin in the space between their body and the desk, a few grains of sand got into his eyes forcing him to close his eyelids and try to rub the sand out of them. He too soon had the answers.

Ibiki had spent the duration of the test stood unmoving at the front of the classroom silently watching the Genin, none held his gaze. As he scanned across the room a fourteenth cell was eliminated but these three put up a fight. Sasuke, having already picked out his target, used the distraction to activate his Sharingan. Mimicking the pencil strokes he quickly had enough answers to pass.

With a smug grin, he de-activated his Sharingan, his task done.

Matters had been greatly simpler for Meshikamaru who'd been able to answer seven of the questions with little trouble. Although right now she was rather put out at the moment and plotting a way to get back at Ino.

"Ok then, forty-five minutes have elapsed. I will now give you the tenth question-," he stopped as Kankuro re-entered the room. "Ah, good timing, if you're done playing with your dolls why don't you take your seat?" Kankuro managed to maintain his cool demeanour but inside was sweating, maybe he hadn't been as subtle as he'd thought.

As he walked back towards his seat Temari moved her hand to the edge of the desk and as her brother walked past he slipped a piece of paper into her hand.

"Now, as I was saying," he started up again as Kankuro sat back down, "The tenth question. For this question alone, I'm adding a new rule and this rule is absolute. But first, you must choose, choose whether you wish to take the question or not."  
"Choose? Why would we possibly choose not to?" Temari shouted.

Ibiki's facial features hardened, "Because if you decide to reject the final question then you will forfeit all your points and fail immediately – and yes your teammates fail along with you."  
"So why would we not choose to take the question?" several shouted. "Because… If you answer incorrectly, not only will you immediately fail but you will forever be barred from attending another Chūnin Exams."

Silence… Absolute silence then an explosion of noise as a wave of disgruntled shouting and completing erupted for the assembled Genin. Many were angry but many also looked terrified, ' _Perfect,'_ Ibiki thought.

"You can't be serious!" Kiba shouted, "We already know there are Genin here who've competed in multiple exams in the past!" Ibiki just grinned, "Then consider yourselves exceptionally unlucky that I'm the one setting the rules this time around." The angry shouting continued and Ibiki just chuckled, his task of sewing doubt and emotion into them had worked wonderfully.

"Anyone with doubts should just leave right now, come back next time and hope the rules aren't as punishing." The silence returned, ' _Now, let's see how many break…_ '

It took only a matter of seconds for the first to lose their nerve. Quickly standing and raising their hand, "I-I quit," he stuttered with no small amount of fear in his voice, a second quickly followed. Those two and their teammates departed, whispered apologies passing between them.

' _This whole thing feels off…'_ Rezano thought, ' _To hold back someone a Jōnin level Shinobi as a Genin is nonsensical. No, I think he's bluffing. And I'm gonna call him on it!'_ he firmly decided.

His paper tiger threat had gotten rid of six teams so far. ' _Let's see if I can get rid of a few more before Anko arrives. She'll give me some grief with the number still left._ ' Even Ibiki tried to avoid being the brunt of Anko's mannerisms. Looking around his eyes homed in on the Hokage's son, ' _The perfect target._ '

"You willing to take the risk, boy?" Ibiki asked him, most of the Genin turned to face Rezano who played it cool. "Huh? Did you say something Ibiki-san?"  
"Mm, are you sure you want to take the tenth question? It would be very embarrassing if the son of the Hokage was made to be a Genin his entire career."

' _Wait, that kid is the Hokage's son!?_ ' Temari thought recognising him from that whole thing with the kid running into Kankuro. "No, not really. I think you're bluffing," Rezano replied. Ibiki silently laughed, ' _Kid's got nerve, I'll give him that. Wonder how he'll deal with Anko though? Her friendship with his brothers means she'll surely single him out._ _Bah, he seems to have helped strengthen the resolve of some of the others as well. Tsch, this is as many as I'm going to get._ '

"Alright then. If everyone left is going to take the question then…"

-(*)-

 **Jōnin Standby Station**

Anko looked up at a clock hung on the wall and realised the time, "Well, it's been fun kiddies, "she said throwing an arm over both Naruto and Kurotsuchi's shoulders, "But I need to get going," she added.

After releasing Kurenai from her vice-grip like hug earlier she'd again managed to get herself between the two young Jōnin, probably because she thought it annoyed Naruto, which to an extent was true. He'd hadn't bothered moving for a third time because she'd probably do it a third time.

"Anything interesting?" Kurotsuchi asked a little nervously, she just hadn't gotten used to Anko, there was absolutely no one like her back in Iwagakure. "Oh yeah, pretty important too," she said with a sniff.

"Even Anko has responsibilities," Kakashi said sarcastically. Anko fixed him with a stern glare, "You're going the right way for a smack around the head scarecrow."  
"Guess I'll see you all around," she said taking a few steps before stopping again and turning back around, her face now plastered with a grin. "As for you two," she said pointing a finger at Naruto and Kurotsuchi, "Behave yourselves… And don't do anything I wouldn't," she laughed before yanking open one of the sliding doors and jumped out.

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, Kakashi's head shook along with him, Kurotsuchi looked truly weirded out while Asuma, Kurenai and Gai giggled away like a bunch of school children. "Yeah you two, no misbehaving now," Kurenai teased. Naruto's response was to throw a cushion at her.

"Oh my, Naruto. I never pegged you as someone who enjoyed pillow fights."  
"No, ah, *Sigh*," Naruto simply gave up, burying his head in his hands. Kurenai and Asuma now leaning on each other cackling away, Gai at least gave him a sympathetic smile.

A few seconds later his face reappeared and he fixed Kurenai with a stare, "You are as bad as Anko is," he accused. Kurenai just laughed a little more, "Of course, we've known each other for years and I learnt from the best."

The sole Iwa Shinobi amongst them had remained silent up till now, she was still staring at the open shutter that acted as one of the large rooms windows. "What just happened?" she asked nobody in particular. "You've just met Mitarashi Anko," Asuma joked.

"She should come with a warning sign," Naruto sighed. "Our dear Anko certainly has an exuberant way of displaying her youth," Gai said. Slowly everyone's heads, including Kakashi's, turned to face the Taijutsu master. "What? Gai questioned them all, "What…? Is there something on my face?"

"So… I take it she's always like that then?"  
"Oh yeah, she's normally far blunter than today though," Asuma replied to Kurotsuchi's question. "Definitely come with a warning sign," Naruto repeated quietly. "And does she normally use so many…"  
"Double Entendres? Yeah."

"I also couldn't help but notice most of them were directed at you," she said to Naruto. "Yeah, that's normal too…"  
"Do I want to know why?" Kurenai tried to provide an answer, "It's because… Anko's made it her… goal to get Naruto to blush… at least once." Her explanation was broken up by intermittent laughter. "Why?"  
"Because she overheard Tri-kun saying that nothing made me blush. So she's been trying ever since."

Kurotsuchi sighed, "Konoha's weird," she muttered, there was absolutely nobody that came close to the personality of Anko. "Don't suppose any of you know what this important thing she needed to do was? Do I need to worry about my Genin or anything?"  
"Uh…," was the collective reply.

-(*)-

 **Classroom 301**

"Alright then. If everyone left is going to take the question then… You pass."

' _Kami, I love that silence,_ ' Ibiki laughed to himself. If a pin were dropped at the opposite end of the room he'd have heard it with little issue.

"Ha. Ha. Haha!" Meshikamaru laughed as the anti-climax sank in, leaning back in her chair she brought her palm up to her face. Some of the Chūnin chuckled too as they viewed the sight of dozens of Genin with baffled expressions on their faces, "Huh?" many uttered in confusion.

"Yep, no joke, you all pass."  
"What do you mean passed? When? How? What about the tenth question?" Temari shouted. The first genuine smile crossed Ibiki's face, "Simply put, there was no tenth question – Not beyond the 'Accept or Reject' element."  
"Mendokusē," Shikamaru muttered with a facepalm, his twin's laughter still circulating around the classroom.

Temari seemed to have assumed the unofficial role of spokesperson for every confused Genin as she again shouted, "Wait, so only whether we accepted or rejected the 'tenth question' mattered?" Ibiki nodded. "So what was the point of the test paper then?"

Ibiki chuckled quietly, he raised his hands towards his head as he explained, "Yes, whether you did well on the test or not is irrelevant, that's true. Because ultimately that's not what we were testing you on. Many of you will have noticed that the questions we'd given you are beyond what is to be expected of a regular Genin." He finished untying his Hitai-ate, placing it on the desk in front of him.

"We were instead testing your ability to spy. The rules combined with the difficulty of the questions left most of you with little choice but to cheat. To ensure you had someone to cheat off of we inserted a few Chūnin amongst you." He began untying his black bandanna as the now revealed Chūnin raised their hands.

"But the test did serve another purpose of getting rid of those who couldn't cheat without being caught." He finished untying his bandanna. "Because there are repercussions for those caught for espionage. Removing his bandanna there was a sharp intake of breath, Ibiki's bald scalp and forehead was littered with past injuries.

One of the long vertical scars on his face continued up past his temple before cutting back at nearly a 90° angle across his forehead. There was more scar tissue than skin, whether from cuts or burns it was difficult to tell.

But as Ibiki bowed his head forward the greatest injuries came into view. Atop his head was a series of shallow circular holes, they were the wounds left behind by screws. Sasuke internally winced a little, Ibiki had clearly been tortured in the past. "Incorrect actions have consequences, as you can see," he said before putting his bandana and Hitai-ate back on.

"So what was the point of the tenth question at all? why not just settle for just catching us cheating?" Again it was Temari who put the question. "The tenth question, a choice between two options, both were difficult decisions with serious consequences. Either drop out and try again next time or put your career progression on the line and take the question. It was a simple but nasty question as was its purpose.

"Those who aren't ready to become Chūnin quit and walked out the door. Those who are willing to put it all on the line possess the right mindset to become Chūnin, you were willing to accept the consequences should you have failed the tenth question so you pass my Exam."

Rezano groaned aloud, "Well that's annoying. And here's me spending the entire test worrying over whether I had enough points to account for Sasuke getting caught cheating," he admitted much to the mirth of the Rookie Nine. Except for the aforementioned Sasuke who growled his response, "You're hardly an intellectual mastermind yourself, Baka."

Rezano brushed off his retort with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Whatever. So what happens now Ibiki-san?"  
"Now you wait for your next Proctor's arrival which should be…"

*SMASH*

-(*)-

"What possessed you to make her the Proctor for the second Exam?" Kurotsuchi asked with her head in her hands. "You can blame Tou-san for that," Naruto replied with a wry smile. "Am I going to have any Genin left to take home afterwards?"

…

"Thanks, guys, thanks for making me feel better," she sighed. The others shared sheepish smiles amongst each other. "Do you at least know what the second Exam is?" she asked hopefully.

…

"Oh for fuck's sake…" she muttered under her breath.

-(*)-

The classroom had been silent as they listened to Ibiki explain the intricacies of the first Exam, that silence was now shattered, literally. One of the wide windows along one wall overlooking nearby buildings and Academy training grounds imploded inwards. Those in the room, Genin and Chūnin alike cover their faces with their arms as they were showered with shards of glass. ' _Well timed as always Anko…_ ' Ibiki heaved a sigh.

Flying into the classroom shrouded in a hail of glass fragments was what appeared to be a large black ball. Spinning wildly through the air the ball's shape seemed to distort, two kunai shot out from it lodging in the ceiling just in front of Ibiki. ' _Oh spare me the theatrics,_ ' Ibiki griped as a large fabric banner unfolded mere inches from his nose held up by the two kunai.

The fabric was completely black in colour, a series of letters were stitched onto the front. They read 'Newly arrived Second Exam Proctor: Mitarashi Anko.'

And stood before the banner was a woman on her mid-twenties wearing a very revealing outfit. A see-through form-fitting mesh bodysuit stretched from neck to mid-thigh. All that protected her modesty was a long trenchcoat, completely unbuttoned, a miniskirt and metal-plated shin-guard greaves completed her minimalist outfit.

And it went down about as well as you'd expect it to in a room full of teenage boys, there were blushes and nosebleeds aplenty.

"The Proctor of the Second Exam, the incredible Mitarashi Anko, has arrived!" the woman cheered loudly with a fist raised above her head.

…

"Way to bring down the mood, Anko…" Ibiki muttered leaning around from behind her banner. Anko's arrival was near the antithesis of Ibiki's serious explanation. She shot him a bristled look, both were members of T&I which Ibiki was the Jōnin Commander of Konoha's T&I corp. And despite being her boss even he trod carefully around Anko.

"Oh no," Rezano said quietly. "Rezano-kun?" Hinata said trying to get his attention, "What's the matter?"  
"I know her and… we're done for, I am convinced she's slightly mad." She turned to face him, she'd heard and she grinned, "Gaki!" she said cheerfully, "You actually passed, that's great! Now you can be my chew toy," she said childishly clapping her hands.

' _Oh yay, lucky me,_ ' he groaned, "Was there no one else they could entrust the second Exam to?" he said boldly, Ibiki just caught the snort of laughter as Anko tilted her head to the side, her grin widening. "Oh look, the little cub's grown claws," she said mockingly.

' _Gaki wants to play, huh? Oh, you're gonna regret that._ ' The game now in play between them was simple, whoever lost their composure first, lost. ' _Sadly I don't have much time to play with him right now and see how sharp his claws are, I have to be responsible after all._ '

"I gotta admit, Gaki. I'm surprised you passed the first Exam since I didn't have you down as a cheater."  
"And cheat I didn't," he retorted. The rest of the room watched on with varying levels of interest ranging from fascinated to utterly disinterested.

"Is that so? Trying to play it rather cool, ain'tcha, Gaki?" *THUD* No one was fast enough to respond, not amongst the Genin at least. Anko's arm was little more than a blur as a kunai streaked through the air, shooting between Genin and slamming into the desk just behind Rezano.

Hinata practically jumped out of her seat, Rezano sat unmoved, frozen in place, he only blinked – once, twice then he felt a slight stinging pain in his cheek. He raised his hand and ran the back of his index and middle fingers against the stinging sensation. Pulling his hand back his fingers were stained red.

"What the fuck, Anko? Seriously?" he growled at her.

Only she wasn't present before her banner anymore, he tensed as something made Hinata shuffle away, he could sense a presence behind him. "Still feeling cocky, Gaki?" Anko gently asked him, her head resting on his shoulder.

She'd already retrieved her kunai and brought it up towards Rezano's face, he tried to pull away but she restrained him, he grew concerned she intended to deepen the cut but instead she gently placed the widest part of the kunai's blade against the skin just beneath the cut. The blood still freely seeping from the wound ran down the kunai, pooled at the weapons tip where it dripped onto the desk below.

"You not gonna answer?" she whispered in his ear, again he said nothing, he was thoroughly creeped out. "Guess I win then, Gaki," she giggled before shunshining back to the spot before her banner. Rezano turned his head slightly to face Hinata, she tried to give him a supportive smile but it was clear she was as creeped out as he was.

"Now that that's dealt with I can answer… Ibiki, why are there still so many? I thought you said your Exam was difficult?" Anko counted 96 Genin in front of her, "How did you pass 32 teams?" The giant of a man just shrugged his shoulders, "Seems we have a talented bunch this time around, they're good cheaters."

"Heh, no matter, I'll get rid of most of them before the third Exam," she grinned, the way she said it unnerved many. "Well let's see who makes a good survivor, Genin follow me!" she finished with a shout before jumping back out the window she'd broken. A steady stream of Genin followed her out, a batch of the Chūnin accompanying them to keep the peace.

Now the classroom was empty, save Ibiki who began collecting up the test papers. Where ever he stepped his sandals came down on glass, the cracking noise grating at his ears, ' _Thanks Anko… Cleaning this up is going to be a real pain._ '

He reached the table where Rezano had been sat, drops of blood were drying atop the wooden desk, one or two had splattered on his test paper. "A curious kid, will be one to keep an eye on."

* * *

-(*)-

End Chapter


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

-(*)-

Five hundred followers, damn. Thank you all!

-(*)-

Into the Forest of Death

"Hey, Rezano, you ok?" Meshikamaru asked him, his hand holding a tissue Hinata had given him against the cut on his cheek. "Yeah, the cut was only deep enough to bleed."  
"Man, that lady is crazy," Ino said. "You don't know the half of it," he sighed.

"Do you know her?" the blonde asked. "Sort of, I've met her briefly once or twice with Tri-kun or Naruto-kun and I'm pretty sure she has a screw loose."

Hinata offered him another tissue as the first had turned completely red by now, he silently took it, giving her a smile in the process, she smiled back. But when he lifted the used tissue away she saw no more blood flow, in fact, the cut looked like it had almost healed, Hinata's eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, Rezano-kun, y-your cut."  
"Yeah! Your cuts almost healed!" Kiba exclaimed. "What did you do?" asked a baffled Meshikamaru. "Nothing," he said shaking his head.

Technically it was the truth, it had nothing to do with him, his tenant, however, did but they didn't know that nor would they. "It would be wise for us to focus back on the second Exam," Shino said sagely as their destination loomed in the distance.

They had been led to one of the quieter parts of Konoha's, there was little in the way of manmade structures, the area instead given over to training grounds. Metal fences divided the space into almost a dozen training fields but the area was dominated by one specific training zone.

Training Ground 44 was the largest training area in Konoha, it was almost the most restricted and infamous. It was a truly wild, feral place, circular in shape and around 20km wide and within resided dangerous creatures and species of carnivorous plants found nowhere else in the world. And all was hidden beneath the largest trees you would ever find, the thick canopy shrouding the ground beneath in perpetual shadow.

It was a locale where even Jōnin would do well to remain vigilant to their surroundings. 44 was merciless, Shinobi entered it maw and in return, it spat out bones and so it earned its nickname.

Anko jumped atop a wooden booth with a large curtain hanging from the front, a huge grin on her face. "Welcome kiddies to Training Ground 44, otherwise known as the 'Forest of Death'. A nickname you will soon understand."

Many of the Genin looked at one another sceptically, the nickname seemed overly dramatic, ' _But then again, if it isn't dangerous then why is the perimeter fence twenty feet tall?_ ' Meshikamaru wondered.

"Now before I explain how the second Exam works I need you to each sign one of these." She said jumping back down from the booth's roof to hand them out. "Waiver Consent Forms?" someone said aloud reading the title. "That's right. If you want to compete in the second Exam you must sign it."  
"Why?" Kiba shouted. "Because you wouldn't want little ol' Anko to get in trouble should one of you get yourselves killed, right?" she said sweetly.

Meshikamaru furrowed her eyebrows as she read the text on the sheet.

"

 _I, [Insert Name] do hereby acknowledge my willing participation in the second Exam of this year's Chūnin Exams, held in Konohagakure._

 _By my signing, I hereby acknowledge the risks entailed with the second Exam of this year's Chūnin Exams, held by Konohagakure._

 _By my signing, I absolve the Chief Proctor [Mitarashi Anko], Konohagakure and Hi no Kuni of all liability in the event that I am either killed or permanently injured._

 _[Sign here]_

"

"You really believe we're going to be killing each other in there?" the Nara asked. Anko grinned back, "Oh, my dear, it's not the other Shinobi you should be worried about. Giant Lions and Tigers and Snakes, oh my!" she sing-songed.

Most quickly conquered their apprehension as forms were filled in and signed. The Chūnin who'd accompanied them across the village checked the forms as they collected them.

The last form was signed and handed over, Anko clapped her hands, "Excellent, now that you've signed your lives away I'll explain the exam. Firstly, one at a time, cells will enter the booth behind me." She hiked her thumb over her shoulder as three of the Chūnin sat at the booth's table.

"The curtain will be pulled across so none of the other cells can see you. While you're there you'll be handed one of two scrolls, I'll explain their purpose in a minute. Make sure you hide the scroll on one of your persons before you come back out."

Anko unhooked the curtain before continuing, "Now the exam, as a whole, is quite simply, a survival test, as for rules… well – there are none, hence the waivers. On the fence panel over there you'll see an enlarged map of training ground 44." Anko walked over to it, the Genin right behind her.

Looking at the map the assembled Genin could discern some notable details. It was circular in shape, a river ran through the middle and the entire forest of death was around 20km wide. In the middle was a tower.

"Your objective is to reach the tower, from your entry gate to tower is about 10km. But now back to the scrolls, see, just reaching the tower isn't enough for you to pass. To pass you must reach the tower with one of each of these," she said holding out two scrolls.

In her left hand was a black scroll with the kanji for Earth written on it. In her right was a white scroll with the kanji for Heaven.

"And because you only start with one, you'll have to acquire the other from another team. There are thirty-two teams here, so a maximum of sixteen cells can pass – said I'd get rid of half of you." She threw the scrolls in her hands to the sat down Chūnin who placed them under the desk.

"Now since I haven't forever to make sure sixteen cells pass there is a time limit. You will have 120 hours to complete this exam, that's five days."  
"Five Days!" Choji near screamed, "What are we supposed to do for food?" Anko stuffed her hands into her trenchcoat pockets and shrugged her shoulders, "You're welcome to eat the animals you'll encounter in there," she grinned, "Just keep in mind they may try to eat you too." Some of the colour drained from the Akimichi's face.

She let out a sigh, "Truth be told I'll be amazed of just eight teams pass. There is no margin for error, a single mistake will see your Chūnin Exams end. Now let's cover things that'll get you disqualified…"  
"I thought you said there were no rules?" someone shouted. "Eh, I lied. Now the next person to interrupt me gets cut," she warned brandishing a kunai.

"The obvious one, if you fail to reach the tower with both scrolls within the five-day time-limit then you're out. If your team loses a member to serious injury or, you know, death, then you're out. If you leave the training ground at any point during the five days, you're out. And finally, don't open the scrolls until you've passed the Exam."

"What happens if we… Argh!" a Genin tried to ask but was cut off by a kunai putting a mean looking cut in their arm. "I said don't interrupt!" she barked in annoyance. "The first Exam tested your ability to obtain information, this Exam will test your trustworthiness handling sensitive information."

Walking back to the booth Anko pulled the curtain across hiding the seated Chūnin who would distribute the scrolls. A Kusa nin almost got themselves stabbed when they snuck up behind Anko, the kunai she'd thrown held out by their abnormally long tongue. The sight of blood seemed to gotten the Kusa nin excited and they'd vented some killing intent.

One by one, teams entered the booth, received a scroll and small piece of card with a number, they exited and another team replaced them. The final team to receive their scroll was Konoha's team 8, Kiba carrying that toothy grin that showed off his elongated incisors. Shino, hidden behind his tinted glasses and high collar was his usual stoic self and Hinata looked nervous.

"Ok then!," Anko shouted, "Those of you with even numbers on your card go west, those with odd numbers go east. The number you hold is the gate number you'll be entering from. In thirty minutes you'll hear a klaxon that will signal the start of the Second Exam. Good luck! Oh, and don't die!" was her final comments before the Genin divided into two groups.

Konoha team 10 of Shikamaru, Choji and Ino went east along with team Gai and that weird Kusa nin. Meanwhile, Konoha Team's 7 and 8, Kabuto's team, the Suna siblings and the Oto trio went west.

The Suna trio was the first to be left at their entry point, the number six on a sign above a locked gate. Next came Konoha team 7 but before they were left behind by the others Rezano hooked a hand around Hinata's elbow.

"Don't be nervous, you got this," he said positively releasing her arm. It was brief and simple but her frown subsided and she gave him a small smile. With a short nod, she caught back up with her teammates.

Kakashi's three Genin looked at one another, now alone, the number 12 above their gate, a Chūnin stood next to it ready to open the padlock and remove the chain.

"Ok you two, I have an idea on where to hide our scroll." Both boys looked Meshikamaru's way, "Sasuke, give it to Rezano for a second."  
"Why?" he scowled, perceiving her request as an admission that he couldn't be entrusted with it. "Because I want Rezano to make a copy of it using one of his shadow clones. If we're ever forced into a situation where giving up the scroll is the safest option then we'll be giving them a fake."

He wouldn't say it but Sasuke actually thought it a good idea so wordlessly he took the scroll from his pouch and threw it to Rezano. A clone immediately appeared next to him and studied the scroll in great detail, ensuring it got every little scuff and scratch. When ready it henged into an exact copy.

Tossing the original back, Rezano picked up the copy and sealed it into a storage seal built into his outfit, that it would be held in a storage seal would only serve to make it look more genuine. "Ok, sweet. Now… I guess we wait."

And when they entered, they wouldn't enter alone, they would unknowingly be accompanied by a raven. Muninn would watch over them for the duration of the second Exam but only watch, he had been forbidden from revealing himself or aiding team 7.

In turn, Huginn had been assigned to watching the team from Otogakure, discovering the Oto cell's interest in Sasuke had been enough for Tri to argue they and team 7 be watched.

Thanks the mental connection shared between summons and summoner he could be kept abreast of what was happening inside training ground 44. Especially since he was forbidden from entering whilst the exam was active, it was a condition of Iwagakure's participation, a condition made to help reassure Iwa's elders that their Genin would be safe.

The perimeter fence surrounding the forest of death had been augmented with a Fūinjutsu array, it would activate shortly after the exam's start. It was a giant tripwire, any who set it off would be removed by ANBU, by force if necessary. There was only one exception to this, Anko.

" _Are you both in position?"_ Tri asked his summons. _"Yes, we are in place."  
_ " _Good, I trust you are both well rested, you'll have little chance for much over the next few days. And thank you,"_ he made sure to say at the end. Due to the terms of their summoning contract, they had a far greater degree of autonomy than most other summon clans, it meant they never technically had to do what their summoner asked of them.

" _We are fully prepared,"_ they both replied. Tri took a breath, exhaling slowly. He was sat, legs crossed in a meditative pose atop Hokage tower. He would normally struggle to maintain the mental link at this distance but in a meditative state, he could extend the range. ' _Be careful in there Rezano, that forest is no joke._ '

-(*)-

The half an hour was almost up, they'd had a few brief discussions on what to watchful of in the forest. And now Sasuke was pacing back and forth, impatiently kicking out at patches of long grass. The Chūnin assigned to unlock their gate checked his watch, nodding they fished a key out of their pocket. He released the padlock and removed the chain holding the gate shut.

"Ten seconds," he warned them, Sasuke stopped pacing, Rezano shot to his feet as Meshikamaru did a final hamstring stretch. Knuckles were cracked and necks were rolled as a deafening horn blared.

The Chūnin kicked the gate open and the Genin shot past him. He watched as they quickly vanished into the dense treeline beyond. "Good luck," he quietly muttered pulling the gate shut as a raven flew overhead. Rewrapping the chain he replaced the padlock and locked it, "You're going to need it."

Stepping back he looked at the sign bearing the number '12', it briefly flashed blue. He nodded and turned to leave, the Hokage's Fūinjutsu array was active in his sector.

"Think I'll get something to eat," he muttered beginning his walk back to the village.

' _Jeez, it really is dark under here,'_ Meshikamaru noted as soon as they'd passed under the tree's choking canopy. Looking up no light broke through the thick green and brown of branches and leaves.

Sasuke had taken point when Rezano called out to him, "Sasuke, bank east. That team we left at Gate ten didn't look that tough. Seems a good place to start looking for the other scroll." Without a word, he landed on a thick branch and turned them east, "Go east and spiral inwards to the tower. Team 8's that way too," Meshikamaru added with a grin.

Unbeknownst to them, that creepy Kusa nin had entered from an odd-numbered gate, immediately murdering the other two and gone westwards.

-(*)-

 **Team 8**

"Ok, finished. Do we set some more traps or wait to see… Oh, someone already found us," Kiba grinned, his and Akamaru's eyes looking off to the side. Their heightened sense of smell was a superb proximity warning, especially when they were daft enough to approach from upwind.

"Where are they?" Shino quietly asked in that calm, neutral tone he was known for. "To my left, Hinata?" the Inuzuka replied, Akamaru quietly growling atop his head. Channelling chakra to her eyes Hinata activated her Byakugan, with it her field of vision greatly expanded. She didn't have to move her head at all to bring them into view.

"I see them, on a tree branch about thirty feet up, they're a Konoha team but they've got a far bigger problem."

"AAAGH!" team 8 heard a male voice scream, soon joined by two others.

Those screams carried an awfully long way, Anko, sat atop the booth chuckled. "Well, that didn't take long. Ah, the first of many."

Team 8 slowly and cautiously approached the sounds of sharp metal slicing through flesh. Now on the ground having fallen out of the tree, three groggy Genin struggled to get to their feet, the eviscerated corpses of giant leeches doted around them, kunai and shuriken littered the ground.

Totally unaware of their surroundings a limb from one of them hit the trigger for a net trap team 8 had only just finished installing a few minutes earlier. The three of them shot into the air, a mesh net suspending them high in the air.

"You need to watch out for the flying leeches. This forest is home to some of the largest in the world, they home in on the smell of perspiration and they can really jump. You can't get them off in five minutes then…"

-(*)-

 **Team 7**

"Did you hear that?" Rezano asked, the sound of screaming carried on the wind, it was garbled, distorted by distance and obstruction but still possessed enough clarity to be distinguished as a scream. The scream brought them to a halt, "I can't be sure but I think it came from the west," Meshikamaru uttered looking over her shoulder.

The other two took in their surroundings too, they had travelled eastwards for several minutes, they had easily covered the distance separating their gates but hadn't found the team who'd entered from gate ten. "Damn," Meshikamaru muttered, "Guess it ain't going to be that simple."

"Ok, we ain't gonna find them now, not without running into someone else. Whatever our next plan is, can it not involve so much running, it's so humid," Rezano breathed. "Yeah, It really is, it's like a jungle in here, not a forest." Meshikamaru replied. Looking back up at the canopy it was easy to see why, rising moisture would just be reabsorbed by plant life while rain was heavy enough to break through the half permeable canopy above.

"Find the river," Sasuke grunted. Meshikamaru quickly nodded her agreement, "From the map Anko showed us, the river flows south-east so we can get our bearing. With the humidity, we'd best stock up on water too and be able to roughly estimate the time of day as there'll be a break in the canopy. Problem is everyone else will reach the river at some point."  
"Dart in, get what we need, get out. No time wasting," Rezano said.

In silent agreement, they took off again, a slower pace than before as they sought to keep their body temperatures down in the energy-sapping micro-climate. They'd entered from the south-west so all they had to do was travel north-east and they'd eventually come across it.

" _Team 7's heading for the river, they've given up on trying to find the team from gate ten,_ " Muninn explained. While Tri could see through the Raven's eyes when they were mentally connected, he was perceiving events through eyes not human.

Their sight was sharper, clearer but it lacked advanced depth perception, not to mention this 'second sight' didn't come with sound, it sometimes made the images difficult to process so both birds had taken to also describing what he was seeing.

" _Huginn, anything happening with your three?"  
_ " _Not really, they've reached the river already. They are definitely searching for the Uchiha though, but I don't know why."  
_ " _Are they not speaking?"  
_ " _No, they've been silent since reaching the river."_

Tri's eyebrows furrowed, ' _Why is Sasuke of such interest?_ '

The young Uchiha had again taken point, his eyes and ears on full alert when he suddenly dropped from the trees to the ground below. The sudden change of direction completely caught Rezano and Meshikamaru out, both needing a few seconds to safely drop down and re-join him.

"Sasuke?" Meshikamaru asked quietly, he held up a finger to silence them before pointing at his ear. Both understood and listened, they could hear it too. Off in the distance, the sounds of running water could be heard. "Good ears," the Nara whispered.

Strangely Sasuke began making hand signs, not seals used for Jutsu, but instead the rudimentary sign language they were taught in the Academy. What he was saying was simple, 'No more talking,' both nodded their understanding.

Silence would be necessary if they were to avoid detection around the river but it wouldn't be enough to hide them from the most determined of hunters. And right now they were being hunted.

The now sole surviving Kusa nin had a new companion in the form of a small, slender snake coiled lightly around their neck. Using Rezano's blood drawn from Anko's antics in the classroom the snake was able to home in on the teenager. An occasional quiet hiss directed the Kusa nin through the endless trees.

They too had reached the river and with a single, massive leap cleared the wide, fast flowing water below. Swinging under a thick branch they didn't slow down in the slightest, the snake's hisses becoming more frequent as their target drew closer. A smirkish grin crept across their lips, "Showtime," they whispered as team 7 came into view.

There was no warning, no sound, no challenge. Utilising speed none of them could possibly have reacted to, the Kusa nin struck. In the blink of an eye, Rezano received a foot to the side of the head catapulting him hard into a tree, the bark cracking and splintering under the impact. He slumped to the ground unconscious.

"Rezano!" Meshikamaru said alarmed, rushing to his side. Two fingers on his neck she quickly found his pulse, he was bleeding from multiple gashes on his head and opening one of his eyes his retina didn't focus. "Shit, he might have a concussion. Sasuke…"

Silence.

"Sasuke?" she said again turning her head. Their teams Uchiha was stood stock still, his eyes glued to the Kusa nin stood before him. "Sasuke! Snap out of it!" Meshikamaru tried only for the Kusa nin to glare at her. "You're going to be an annoyance, aren't you?" the Kusa Shinobi said in all too sweet a voice.

Sasuke heard Meshikamaru's voice and tried to tear his eyes away, but he couldn't, he was locked in place as this unwelcome arrival spoke again. "Let's be rid of you." Pulling up a sleeve they bit into their thumb and wiped the blood across a seal over their wrist.

A huge plume of smoke swallowed the clearing they were in, it was difficult to see more than a few feet in front of you. As it slowly cleared a large shadow was noticeable, it seemed to writhe and wriggle as a handled piece of string might. Then there was the noise, a rattle, constant and rapid in tempo, so loud it shook the very foundations of Sasuke's mind seeking to unhinge him.

Next came the sight of scales, each the size of a human head, splatters of brown, grey, bronze and green emerging through the thinning mist. Then there were the eyes, each a bright yellow orb with a narrow vertical slit of black down the centre of each.

With the dispersal of every wisp of smoke did this hulking creature become clearer to see, its size was massive, its body coiled around itself, a mass of scales and muscle. The bright red of a forked tongue contrasted strongly against dull colours surrounding it.

The Kusa nin stood beneath this great creature as it towered over him. "Gatapishi [ **1** ], get rid of the girl," they ordered the serpent. It slowly turned its wide, flat head to face a paled Meshikamaru. Another flicker of its tongue and the serpent had her scent. There would be no hiding from it now.

With her in its sights the snake opened its lower jaw, extending to an angle far beyond a humans capacity, it could easily devour her whole. But this isn't what instilled fear into Meshikamaru's heart, it was the two slender appendages that hung from the roof of its mouth.

Fangs, as long as swords, tips as sharp as needles. Fluid pooled at the tip of each, dripping down it struck the ground below and emitted a hiss as it began to eat away at the dirt and foliage leaving two small pools of black dissolved sludge.

Then the rattling returned and Meshikamaru moved and not a moment too soon as the coiled serpent launched itself at her. Carrying Rezano away too spared him begin crushed as Gatapishi slammed head first into the tree.

The tree trunk shattered, huge pieces of bark and wood were cast into the air landing all over the clearing. Meshikamaru hid Rezano's unconscious form between two thick tree roots and a mound of leaves as she continued moving, ' _Sorry, Sasuke. You're on your own for a while'_. Sasuke could only watch on as Gatapishi slithered off after her. The massive tree it had destroyed falling to the ground with a huge crash, the very ground shaking beneath their feet. All for miles felt the shockwaves.

" _Tri-kun!"_ Muninn squawked in deep alarm. _"They are a Genin competing in the Chūnin Exams, we cannot interfere,"_ he reminded the Raven. Tri knew why Muninn was concerned, there were few who possessed a snake summoning contract but this Shinobi was from Kusagakure. A region known for its abundance of serpent wildlife.

The sheer size of the summon was a worry, the larger it was, the more intelligent and harder to control it became was the general rule of thumb.

Muninn shook his wings to loosen the tension that had built in them when he was struck by a tidal wave of bloodlust. It nearly overwhelmed the bird and was transmitted back to Tri who too was struck hard by how potent it was. Whoever this Kusa Shinobi was, they weren't an ordinary Genin, Tri was reminded of his fight against Fū.

The waves of killing intent brought Sasuke to his knees and froze him in place, never before had he experienced such malice as he was subjected to images of his own bloody demise repeatedly, each time a unique and violent end.

"Now it's just the two of us, Sasuke," they said slowly beginning to walk towards the immobilised Genin. Even if Sasuke could cobble together the words to retort he wouldn't have been able to. He mentally screamed for his limbs to respond and slowly, so incredibly slowly did his right arm respond.

He reached behind him into the pouch above his tailbone as his seeming soon to be killer stalked ever closer. In his shaking hand, he withdrew a kunai. The sight of the weapon paused the Kusa nin who stared at it curiously, wondering just what Sasuke intended to do.

"AGH!"

They smiled, a wicked, remorseless smile as Sasuke jabbed to sharpened tip into his own leg, twisting the blade drawing a small, slow flow of blood. The burning pain surged through his nervous system jolting his mind out of the lockdown imposed upon it. With a hiss of pain, he extracted the kunai and managed to stand on uneasy feet.

"My, my, how impressive. Using pain to overcome the oppressive fear of death. You are worthy of being played with so let's play a game."

"A-a game?" Sasuke asked, finding his voice, albeit a quiet and hoarse one. "Yes, a game," they smiled. Reaching into their outfit they quickly fished out a dark scroll.

Sasuke cursed himself when he looked at it a moment too long, the Kusa nin noticed. "This is the scroll you need, yes?" they said, their voice so strange, a twisted mixture of male and female, the outfit they wore made it impossible to discern a gender.

"Our game will be winner takes all," they said before literally swallowing the entire scroll right before Sasuke's eyes, a look of revulsion crossing his face. ' _What the fuck is wrong with this weirdo?_ '

"Last one alive gets the others scroll." Sasuke mentally cursed, he had their real one and Rezano was KO'd so they couldn't even attempt to buy them off with a fake.

"Do you have a name?" Sasuke asked trying anything he could think of to buy time. Anything that might see Rezano awake or Meshikamaru defeat the snake and return to help him. The Kusa nin laughed, "I tell you what, Sasuke. If you can land a single meaningful hit on me, I'll tell you my name," they taunted.

"Since your teammate has the attention of my dear pet Gatapishi, I'll have to deal with you personally."

' _Shit!'_ , Sasuke thought, ' _So much for my distraction strategy._ '

-(*)-

 **Elsewhere in Konoha**

"What the hell happened to this poor bastard?"  
"I-I don't know," a second replied. A third had searched through the deceased persons clothing and pouches pulling out their ID papers, quickly finding the mugshot they held it by the bodies head. They compared the two for several seconds before they each turned to face one another, their faces pale.

"They're supposed to have competed in the Chūnin Exams, inform Mitarashi Anko," the third ordered in a voice filled with deep discomfort at the sight before them. A Shunshin left two to watch over the corpse.

Hurrying across the rural parts of Konoha they quickly reached the perimeter fence of training ground 44 and soon found Anko. All alone sat atop the distribution booth, a small pot of warm bean soup in her left hand, a stick of Dango in her right.

Coming to a stop the Chūnin knelt before the higher ranking woman. "Anko-san, we've found something disturbing we believe you should see," they said with ragged words interrupted by busy breathing. "…Care to be more specific?" she inquired in a bored tone. "A body, ma-am."  
"A body?" her interest sufficiently peaked, "And what is about this body that requires my attention?"  
"I… I don't know how to explain."  
"You don't know… how to explain?" she drawled, distinctly unimpressed. "I just don't know how to describe it," the Chūnin added.

Quickly chugging the rest of her soup and devouring her Dango she leapt down from the booth's roof. "Well go on then. It better be interesting though, I don't like rushing my Oshiruko bean soup," she threatened. The Chūnin noticeably stiffen but nodded. Without another word, he led her to he and his comrade's discovery.

It took just a few minutes for them to reach their destination, a wide and open space in one of Konoha's more remote locales. The ground underfoot was grass and there was only one landmark on any note – A stone wall.

Not four feet high, the stone wall had a continuous line of identical carved Buddha statues running its entire length. Reaching the other two Chūnin Anko could see the streaks of red staining some of the Buddha's. She could smell that distinct metallic scent on the air and taste it on her tongue. The body lay before the bloodstains.

"Anko-san," the other two Shinobi said in welcome as they stood. Walking purposefully to the body, the head was obscured until the last moment. Looking down the puncture wound just above the jugular notch, it wasn't very wide but clearly deep enough to puncture the carotid artery. The pool of blood beneath the body was substantial and would also explain the blood spray.

But that wasn't the concern, it was the face – there wasn't one. Anko froze and a cold shiver ran through her, she'd seen this technique before, only once but there was only one person who knew it.

That shiver returned as her mind was assaulted by memories, memories of a once cared for Sensei. Her eyes became unfocused as the flashbacks continued. The three Chūnin looked on in grim silence. The poor soul's face was… gone, for lack of a better term, as if it had been melted off.

There was no definition along the jawline and chin, the lips had fused into one and lost all their colour, the nose was now little more than a tiny bump while the cheekbones were just absent. The eyebrows had disappeared entirely while the eyes appeared to have been covered in a thin layer of translucent skin.

One of the Chūnin took out a kunai and carefully slit the skin over one of the eyes. The eye itself was completely white with no retina or iris clearly visible. It reminded them of a Hyūga's eyes but where you might find pale violet in the eyes of a Hyūga in these you would find nothing.

"Did you find their ID papers?" Anko asked trying to suppress her apprehension. One of the Chūnin approached and handed her their photo and upon seeing the mugshot her heart rate slowed as a cold sweat ran over her. She'd seen this face before, not an hour earlier, it was the one who'd returned the kunai she'd thrown.

It meant he was inside training ground 44, he'd infiltrated the second Exam, her second Exam. "Inform the Hokage, take the picture and ask that he release every available ANBU squad into training ground 44 to find someone who looks exactly like this," she ordered pointing at the mugshot.

The Chūnin looked amongst each other, baffled by her order. "Uh… Anko-san?" one tried to ask before being abruptly cut off. "INFORM THE FUCKING HOKAGE!" she bellowed throwing the picture at him which lamely fluttered through the air, it was only a piece of paper, before lightly landing on the grass.

It was quickly snatched up by one of the Chūnin before all three shunshined away to carry out her orders. In her mind, she had satisfied the requirement to raise the alarm and with her duty performed the anger and years of pent up animosity came boiling to the surface. "It's time for justice, snake," she said with venom before shooting off, back towards the forest of death.

But until she could find him, if she could find him, Sasuke would be on his own.

-(*)-

"Gah!" Sasuke gasped in pain landing on the ground in a heap. He'd tried to get off the forest floor and control the high ground only to get a kick to the stomach. Hauling himself to one knee he was taken by a heavy cough. Each cough brought a mass further and further up his throat and with a final trachea shaking cough he hacked up a glob of blood.

Sasuke grimaced at the metallic taste as he spat out staining the grass beneath him red. Most Shinobi disliked tasting their own blood, it was somewhat synonymous with taking a beating. But it only served to fuel Sasuke's building anger. Something he greatly needed right now.

The fire was only stoked further by how obviously he was being toyed with and he hated it. His brother's words echoed at the back of his mind, mocking him, _"You think your undeveloped Sharingan is going to help you? You'll be competing against Shinobi much older and far more experienced, some will be faster than your new Sharingan can currently compensate for."_

His older siblings words burned him as more words reached his ears, "Take your time, Sasuke. I'm not expecting your teammates to return to aid you anytime soon," they taunted. "W-why do you know my name?" he growled.

"A pertinent question," he/ she chuckled, "Let's just say I have a vested interest in seeing just how strong you are. Although I must say, I'm somewhat disappointed, perhaps I'm spending my time with the wrong brother?" they grinned.

The thing was, Sasuke knew it was a taunt but he didn't care, he used it to fuel the fire within him. If this fool wanted to see the full might of an Uchiha then on their head be it. He just needed the right push to awaken his bloodline.

Pulling himself to his feet he groaned as the pain flared in his abdomen. Reaching behind him he pulled a kunai from his pouch and with a grim look of determination set his stance. Across from him the Kusa nin tilted their head to the side and smiled, it was a creepy, thin-lipped smile. The smile faded and Sasuke's opponent charged forward.

' _I can't let them get close, I can't take many of those kicks._ ' He thought jumping backwards with a graceful flip. With his body flipped 180°, his head closest to the ground, he began throwing kunai and shuriken. Every single one missed.

The way they moved seemed so unnatural, the fluidity of their limbs made it seem as if they had no skeleton. Tri recognised the style of limited action, the art of absolute efficiency, only expending what energy was necessary. Every kunai, every shuriken missed by mere centimetres, none were blocked, all evaded.

They drew closer as Sasuke's feet planted on the underside of a large tree branch, using chakra and his momentum he swung around and landed right side up on top of the thick branch. Looking down the weapons he'd thrown formed a trail documenting the Kusa nin's path towards him. As they leapt up Sasuke leapt off backwards but not before slapping a lit explosive tag on the branch just out of view.

They saw the tag at the last moment as it burnt down to its last. Sasuke grinned as the branch was destroyed under the concussion wave of exploding chakra, wooden shrapnel scattered in all directions. Even if they weren't within the blast radius of the tag itself they couldn't possibly dodge every sharpened fragment of wood.

Landing lightly on the ground Sasuke's grin remained, the white cloud cleared to reveal a jagged stump jutting out from the trunk where the branch had been, what remained was scorched and glowed a dim red. But the clearing smoke revealed no body nor blood, nothing. He furrowed his eyebrows, ' _Where did they go?_ '

"My, my Sasuke-kun," a voice whispered in his ear, "Any closer and I might have been picked splinters out of my hair." The grin was scoured from his face in an instance as something struck him between the shoulders, whether fist or foot he knew not but he was sent careening across the clearing. Falling head over heels he struck the ground multiple times before coming to a stop, his shoulder slamming into a tree.

Collapsing to the ground there was a fierce pain at the top of his arm. Rising to his knees he looked and immediately felt woozy. Embedded in his arms deltoid muscle was a slither of wood he guessed at over an inch thick and several inches in length. He didn't know where it had come from.

The Kusa nin laughed, "Oh my, Sasuke, that looks painful." Sasuke looked back up to them slowly approaching once again. He deliberately looked away from them and the wound as he tentatively wrapped his fingers around the foreign body stuck in his arm. With a few short, sharp breathes he steeled himself, tightening his grip he pulled.

"AHH!" he tried to suppress the scream of pain as it came free, a small spurt of blood following its exit. Throwing it aside he tried to bring his strained body back under his control, looking down the blood flow from the wound was constant and required immediate attention.

Putting the Kusa nin from his mind a moment he drew another kunai and utilized one of the simplest chakra exercises he knew and kneaded Katon chakra in his stomach. Holding the kunai in front of his mouth he exhaled the heated chakra over the kunai's sharpened edges.

Ignoring the growing pain in his right hand as the kunai rapidly heated, the edges beginning to glow, he finished exhaling and after taking a deep breath turned the kunai's tip to face the wound and slowly, gently pushed it in. His free hand, his left, clenched into a fist as his teeth ground together, his nails digging into his palm as he fought down the wail of agony building in his throat as the sound of hissing filled his ears, heated metal touching blood and flesh.

"Such dedication," the Kusa nin chuckled, deliberately slowing their approach so Sasuke could cauterize the wound.

With the blood-flow stemmed Sasuke's arms fell limply at his side, turning his hands over he opened his palms, the still hot kunai falling to the grass. His right palm bore the imprint of the handle, despite the string covering the grip it had done little to stop the heat burning his flesh. His left palm had four shallow cuts where his nails had dug beneath the skin, a little blood pooling around each.

"Perhaps you might be capable of matching your brother's immense standards after all," the Kusa nin again taunted and with his wounds clear before him Sasuke's emotions finally took over. A blink of his eyelids and gone was the black and replaced by the Sharingan, two tomoe in each eye. Lifting his head slightly he glared at his foe, a look of anger etched on his face as his tomoe spun menacingly.

' _Excellent!'_ the disguised Shinobi cheered, ' _He possesses the eyes. Now all that's left is to lay the groundwork for him to come to me._ '

"Ah, the Sharingan. Come then, Sasuke, test your eyes against me," they challenged.

" _Tri-kun. Is there nothing you can do?"_ Muninn asked having found Rezano's still unconscious form. _"No, I am forbidden from interfering in the Exams. He was incapacitated by another competitor. Now pay attention to Sasuke, this Kusa nin has far too great an interest in him. Huginn are your three still searching?"_

" _Yes, but I can sense we are still some distance from Muninn."_

Pulling himself to his feet Sasuke extracted another kunai from his pouch, the cool metal stung against his burnt palm. He had few remaining and looking at it he could tell this one wasn't as sharp as it should have been and it was pot-marked with chips and scuffs. ' _Guess I will have to recover my better ones,_ ' he challenged himself.

With the throbbing pain in his arm and the sting on his palms, Sasuke went on the offensive.

Taking a wide approach he skirted around the edge of the clearing that had become their battle site, in doing so he was able to retrieve a few shuriken and one of his better kunai, it replaced the ill-maintained one in his hand.

The Kusa nin remained in the clearings centre, they slowly turned their body to keep Sasuke to their front as the first shuriken was launched at him. Leaning his upper body to the left he immediately noticed he had to move a little faster to dodge and how the four sharped tips had come within just millimetres of skin.

' _As expected of the Sharingan,_ ' they though dodging a second shuriken, this time leaning to the right. Sasuke's eyes had countered their fluidity somewhat, he was forcing their movements to be faster, more 'jerky', more abrupt.

They'd positioned themselves well, most of Sasuke's weaponry, however, the weaponry he sought to reclaim were littered about the centre of the clearing partially obscured by the grass. He'd have to get them out of the way first.

Not slowing Sasuke planted a foot on a tree trunk and began to ascend, reaching a height of twenty feet he pushed off and twisted in mid-air. He threw the kunai in his hand a few inches away to free his hands for hand-seals, briskly weaving he breathed deeply, " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu** ," he said quietly.

The fireball formed quickly and streaked away from Sasuke, it's bright red luminosity lit up the dim clearing, a hue of red mixing with the green and brown surroundings. The intended target just smiled up at it waiting until the ambient heat touched their skin. Then in the blink of an eye, they leapt high into the air, the fireball passing beneath them.

Sasuke grumbled at the ease of which his Jutsu was avoided but ultimately it had accomplished its purpose and made them concede the centre of the clearing. As he began to fall back towards the ground he grabbed his kunai out of the air as the Kusa nin, still rising, past him.

The fireball struck the ground and exploded, it's flames quickly burnt out diming the clearing once again. Little of the grass was burned, the moisture held within each blade protected it. It gave off little smoke that did nothing to hide Sasuke as he landed a few moments later quickly gathering as many of his munitions as possible before his opponent landed.

The Kusa nin was still in the air when something, thick and vine-like shot from beneath their sleeve. Sasuke tensed, noticing the distinctively scaly pattern of a snake but it wasn't aimed at him, it instead touched the ground and brought something back to its master, a kunai perhaps? But why? Would they not have their own?

A few seconds later they landed in near total silence, the grass underfoot seemed to make no sound as it bent. The snake was gone and in his hand was something smaller than a kunai yet larger and thicker than a senbon. Looking closely as they raised their arm, lightly twirling something between their fingers, Sasuke had his answer. One end baring a distinctive red stain.

"I'm a great believer in symmetry, Sasuke," they chuckled firmly grasping the same piece of wood Sasuke had pulled from his arm. That ever-present smile came towards him again and with a kunai in each of his hands, they duelled.

The clash of weapons didn't make any sense to Sasuke as he leaned out of the way of a stab attempt at his upper right arm, his enemy sought a very literal form of symmetry. Each time his kunai struck the wood it was instead his metal weapon that felt flimsy. Each of his strikes was deflected in such a manner so as to reduce the stress on the wood, never was it used in a blocking motion nor did it grind against the sharpened edges.

' _I have to disengage,_ ' he thought with worry as flaws in his form were exploited, the tip of the wood coming within a hair's width of plunging into his arm.

With the risk already high, it didn't matter much that he took another. Wildly lashing out with a kunai he caught them by surprise making them take a step back to avoid a potential cut beneath the eye. That back-step was what he needed and throwing the second kunai bought him the time he needed to break free.

Jumping back he grimaced, somehow they'd managed to land a stiff punch on his hip, he hadn't even seen it. Yet it was not their hand that bore the brunt of the impact but instead Sasuke's hip. They flexed their fingers to further emphasise it mockingly before they rushed forward once more.

The young Uchiha was struck by the similarities that his eyes perceived, he was standing in almost the exact same spot he was earlier and a plan quickly formed in his mind.

Just as he had when their fight had first started Sasuke threw kunai and shuriken and while the motion of avoiding them was less fluid than before they were still easily dodged. And just as before he pumped his leg muscles full of chakra and leapt backwards, more of his weapons cast towards his snake-wielding foe.

' _Tut, tut, Sasuke. Run out of ideas already?'_ Jumping up in pursuit they fully remembered Sasuke's earlier attack pattern so weren't surprised when Sasuke attached himself to the underside of a branch, the earlier destroyed branch barely ten feet away. They expected the final kunai to be thrown just as Sasuke used his momentum to swing around and land on top of the branch. They also expected another kunai the moment he touched down on the branch.

And that's exactly what happened. Leaning their head to the right the first kunai flew past their ear. Sasuke momentarily vanished as he swung around the thick branch and upon his reappearance, he threw the second kunai. They noticed as they moved their head back to the left that the second kunai was thrown with much greater force.

Looking closely at that kunai as it flew past them they soon understood why. Tied with a simple knot around the kunai's hoop was a wire, thin spun steel.

The first kunai Sasuke hadn't used before now, it had been one of the few to remain in his pouch, it had steel wire pre-tied to it so it was simply a matter of taking it out and throwing. And with the moments he had obscured by the branch he'd tied the other end of that same wire off on the second kunai. His foe seemed to have realised the significance and Sasuke wasn't done there.

But for the Kusa Shinobi time seemed to slow down jerking their head back to the right and turn to look over their left shoulder as the first kunai again flew past their face backwards, the sharpened edge slicing a few strands of long, black hair.

And turning back to visually relocate Sasuke they were greeted by the sight of a Fūma shuriken, it's elongated blades a blur and it whistled through the air, a second, thicker strand of steel wire tied to it. Sasuke had thrown the weapon with all his might, there was no time to dodge, no time to deflect – certainly not with a bit of wood.

The clearing echoed as the Fūma shuriken struck, a metallic sound as it struck something far harder than flesh.

…

Sasuke stared in disbelief, they'd caught it, caught it between their teeth. ' _How did they do that?_ ' It was timed to absolute perfection, none of the four blades had left even the faintest of cuts. But Sasuke kept his cool, he wasn't done just yet, he'd attached the wire for a reason.

Perhaps it was a game of teeth? Because the teen had placed the other end of the wire between his. And with a toothy grin, he brought his now free hands together in front of his face to form the tiger seal, the wire passing between his index and middle fingers.

' _ **Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu**_ _,_ ' (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique) he laughed in his mind his Jutsu charged.

He released and ignited the chakra, focusing it down the wire, it raced towards its wide-eyed target who still in mid-air was stuck. The speed at which it travelled left them no options, they couldn't dodge, they couldn't block – nothing.

They closed their eyes and it struck. By taking the large shuriken variant between their teeth they'd given Sasuke a direct shot at their face. Their head was immersed in flame, the fire combined with the smoke obscured their head, Sasuke couldn't see. Strangely they didn't make a sound.

' _Maybe I took their head off?_ ' he wondered as the unresponsive form of the Kusa nin began falling to the ground.

" _Well I'll be, he actually did it,"_ Tri said, nodding with a modicum of respect at Sasuke's apparent victory.

The body came within inches of the earthy ground when it became responsive again, rolling safely they stood up stock straight and began laughing, a deep, menacing laugh. Sliding vertically down the tree Sasuke reached the ground himself as they turned to face him.

Sasuke recoiled at the sight, the skin of their face had shrivelled and wrinkled and under the left eye had actually peeled away to reveal a second layer of flawless, undamaged skin beneath it. ' _What the? What is it with this freak?_ '

It was the eye, the peeling back of the skin had revealed a golden eye with a slitted pupil, a band of purple running from the top of the eye down the side of the nose. The newly visible skin around the eye was pale as they continued laughing.

"Oh, marvellous, well done Sasuke. I'll admit I had my doubts but you've removed them. You really are your brother's sibling, there's no doubt about that now. You are worthy of the name Uchiha." Reaching up they place their nails against the surface of their Hitai-ate and slowly dragged them horizontally across the metal. Sasuke just watched on as the symbol of Kusagakure was ripped away to reveal the same musical symbol he'd seen worn by three others earlier.

" _Tri!"_ Muninn said in deep concern upon seeing the musical symbol.

"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke demanded. They laughed again, "Well I suppose I did say I would. Sasuke-kun, my name is Orochimaru."

Tri's eyes opened, now he could intervene.

-(*)-

* * *

End Chapter

[ **1** ] – Gatapishi: Japanese word for rattle.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

* * *

Playing Games

-(*)-

Training Ground 44, normally a quiet, foreboding place. Most completely untouched by human design. But today and for the following four days it would play host to a series of back and forth endless skirmishes, the sounds of clashing metal and screams would perforate the normally still air, the wildlife disturbed and robbed of sleep.

With the passing of each of those five days would the wildlife become more frustrated by the invaders to their habitat, with each of those five days would the wildlife become more dangerous. And right now Meshikamaru wished what chased her was local.

The sound of snapping filled the air, another crash shook the ground underfoot. She was utilising all her speed and guile and she was still just barely escaping an early meeting with the Shinigami. A deep 'whooshing' sound reached her ears and instinctively she ducked, an act that saved her.

The huge snake summoned by that Kusa nin had just swung its tail at her, damn near taking her head off. Gatapishi's tail recoiled off a nearby tree, the bark shredded to reveal the wood beneath.

She'd have little trouble finding her way back to her teammates if she could deal with her pursuer. The trail of devastation it had wrought through the forest was wide and pronounced. Bushes crushed, trees damaged or outright destroyed. The cacophony of noise and scent of an alpha predator had ensured they went unharrassed by the local wildlife. Any curious Genin teams if they had any sense would stay away too.

She was all alone against a serpent she'd guessed was at least sixty feet long, probably longer. But she wouldn't panic, she was her father's daughter, she would think her way out of this one.

Her plan to fight back was already underway. Her dodging was buying her the time she needed to finish her weapon: Two kunai, a thread of steel wire some two feet long tying them together and along that wire, half a dozen explosive tags, altogether it almost had the appearance of bunting. She knew that the hardened scales covering the snake's flanks and back would be too tough to penetrate so her target was instead the scales of the underbelly.

Gatapishi had momentarily lost sight of her so it wrapped apart of itself around a tree to gain a higher viewpoint, it gave Meshikamaru her window of opportunity, some of the wider scales of the snake's underbelly were exposed.

Lighting the tags she threw them both with all the force she could muster, she still needed the kunai to dig in and not just bounce off. She left out a breath when they indeed did stick but her action had given away her location. Gatapishi slithered down from the tree to renew its pursuit of her when the tags exploded.

Gatapishi let out a loud hiss of pain as the heat and concussive force generated affected the flesh beneath. But any hope Meshikamaru had for a serious wound faded as fast as the smoke did. All the tags had done was blacken what was before a series of very pale scales.

' _Ah fuck,_ ' she bemoaned as the furious serpent launched its great mass directly at her, jaws opened wide. Energising her leg muscles with a surge of chakra she managed to leap clear leaving Gatapishi to clamp his huge maw around a fallen tree trunk.

Turning around Meshikamaru was treated to the sight of Gatapishi swinging its head and launching the dead tree off into the distance. Chunks of dead and rotting wood broke free and were left in its wake as it struck several trees before coming to a stop. The noise it made was damn near deafening for Meshikamaru. That was one advantage Gatapishi had over her – It, as a snake had no ears, it was nearly totally deaf.

But watching the tree fall to the ground had given her another idea, she just hoped she had enough explosive tags to pull it off as she momentarily looked at the nearest colossal tree, it towered over her. ' _I bet that weighs A LOT._ '

Through the commotion Gatapishi had again lost sight of her and she used that to her advantage. But she trod carefully for while snakes were deaf in the sense that they lacked ears they possessed a heightened sensitivity to vibrations so every step Meshikamaru took she muffled with chakra.

Making sure not to stay stationary for too long lest its sense of smell locate her, she circled the massive snake putting her new plan into action. She was taking no chances and used every last explosive tag she had on her, all thirty of them were placed at the base of an enormous tree in a semi-circle. All were aimed towards Gatapishi.

With the tags in place and primed she lightly touched down behind a thick shrub. Taking a breath she took out her storage scroll and extracted a log. ' _Hah! Told you carrying one around like this would come in handy Shikamaru,_ ' she congratulated herself. ' _I just hope to Kami this works,_ ' she thought gently putting the log down.

Her plan lacked one final component – bait. She jumped out into the open, Gatapishi immediately located her but she made it appear as if it had finally spotted her. Its long, stubby tail, topped with that rattle came around to block her from the left, he was narrowing her avenue of escape.

Slowly and with a look of fear she backed up, the snakes head slowly coming forward in response. It's bright yellow eyes seemed to grow brighter as Meshikamaru walked back into a tree. Her eyes widened, she had nowhere to go and Gatapishi knew it. Tilting his wide head to the side he sprung forward jaws opening in a flash. The moment she could no longer see those yellow eyes she Kawarimied.

The experience of effectively teleporting jarred her for a moment before her senses returned and she hurled herself to the ground. Turning away from her set explosive tags she opened her mouth and covered her ears just as they burned down completely.

 ***BOOM***

The explosion was huge, shards of wood were turned into high-velocity shrapnel cutting through the air. Then the concussive shockwave hit her and pushed her several feet. The blast had been powerful enough to rip huge chunks out of the base of the trunk, the high pressure generated so great it drove a wave of moisture before it.

Gatapishi, who heard through vibrations, was at the pressure waves mercy so was utterly dazed as the sound of snapping cracked through the disturbed air. Turning back around she was greeted to the sight of a gargantuan tree begin it's descent as the last of what remained of the trunk gave way, snapping under the immense weight above it.

Her quick mental calculations had been accurate as the descending mass stayed on target. While Gatapishi did recover his senses, it was too late. The great tree, a century or older struck the ground and the very earth heaved under its weight as Meshikamaru was thrown off her feet. The deep booming sound drowning out the shriek of agony as Gatapishi's body was caught between tree and earth.

Meshikamaru was able to stand again as the aftershocks subsided, the sounds of anguished pain now alone. Her plan had worked, the tree had landed about two thirds down Gatapishi's body, the tail wasn't moving at all and blood was beginning to pool from under the fallen tree. The remaining two-thirds whipped and writhed before that slitted yellow orb locked onto her again.

Seeing the one who'd delivered him such a devastating injury broke through the cloud of distress and re-focused his frayed mind. Baring his two viscous fangs the venom came thick and fast, large drops of translucent yellowish liquid falling from the needle tip sharp instruments.

Meshikamaru looked on in dread as she realised the massive snake sought to melt through the entire tree. She had nothing left that could deal serious damage to it. "Ah shit," she muttered.

-(*)-

 **Atop Hokage Tower**

Tri, still in his meditative pose, didn't so much as twitch as he spawned a shadow clone. Without a word it ran to the railing and leapt over dropping out of sight. Before the clone gathered too much speed it reached out and effortlessly grabbed the window ledge and pulled itself up before lightly knocking on the window.

Minato was talking to three Chūnin who'd arrived in a hurry just minutes earlier when he heard the knock on his window. Turning his head he raised a curious eyebrow and ushered Tri inside with a hand signal. With almost no sound the window was slid open, they slipped inside and the window shut again, all the while the Chūnin continued speaking. The clone moved to stand next to them, hands clasped behind their back.

"That's when Anko-san ordered us to inform you of what we found."  
"Ok, thank you. Tri-kun, what do you need?" Minato asked. "I'm just a clone, Hokage-sama. But the boss has learnt the second Exam has been infiltrated."  
"What? You too?" Minato asked in exacerbation. "Me too?" the clone asked. "Yes, the Chūnin here arrived to inform me of the same thing."

The clone turned its head to look at them, it spied the picture in one of their hands, "Is that a photo of your infiltrator?" The Chūnin nervously nodded raising their arm to show the clone. They took one look at the photo, "Hokage-sama, bosses infiltrator and the Chūnin's infiltrator are the same person."

"Do you know who they are?"  
"Yes," they replied with a nod, "They've just identified themselves as Orochimaru."

The Chūnin went white in the face but Minato jumped to his feet, "ANBU!" he shouted. In an instant, the masked Shinobi was before the leader of Konohagakure. "Take the photo, show it to every ANBU team stationed around training ground 44 and have them track this individual down." The ANBU nodded once, took the photo and was gone.

"Chūnin, thank you for bringing this to my attention, you're dismissed." All three nodded, one bowed and they left. With just the clone left Minato turned to face them. "Dispel yourself but tell Tri-kun to send another one to explain everything to me." Another nod then the clone was gone.

Minato was concerned, he hoped Tri would be able to answer the question of why Orochimaru is here.

Back on the roof, just as before, Tri didn't move in the slightest as he received his clones memories. While still watching through Muninn's sight he seamlessly created another clone as per Minato's request.

" _Ok, that's Tou-san brought up to speed. They'll tell him what I'm about to do. Muninn-kun, I need you to reverse summon me."  
_ " _I-I can't…"_ the Raven replied. Tri went silent for a moment, then he remembered why. _"Ah, fuck! Huginn!"  
_ " _I'm already on my way,"_ the second of the Ravens said.

He chastised himself for forgetting about the bond between his twin summons. Being born as twins meant their power and abilities were divided equally between them. And to use major techniques like reverse summoning required both of them in close physical proximity to perform.

Technically it would have been faster for him to run to the forest of death but he had no way of actually locating Orochimaru, even with a small army of clones he could have spent hours searching and find nothing so, for now, he would have to wait. _"How long, Huginn?"  
_ " _A few minutes at least, the three you had me watching have been heading downstream so they've been bringing me closer to Muninn the entire time."_

For now, he was stuck watching events unfold through Muninn's eyes and there were now matters of grave concern.

-(*)-

 **Training Ground 44 - Sasuke**

What had possessed the hallmarks of a terrible day for Sasuke had now descended into a nightmare. First, the creep with the snake summon had identified themselves as Orochimaru and then they'd bitten him. He could only look on in disgust as their neck extended to a truly absurd length, meters in length and then as fast as a snake they'd sunk fang-like incisors into his neck.

And now here he was writhing in agony as Orochimaru knelt down beside them, a sadistic smile on his thin, pale lips. For Sasuke, it felt as if his blood vessels burned and his blood boiled, tendrils of agonising pain sinking into muscle, bone and sinew. A building pressure behind his eyes distorted his vision. With a single hand on Sasuke's chest Orochimaru pinned them down so he could whisper in his ear and as he did so the pain subsided.

"You'll never defeat Itachi, Sasuke, so long as you remain in this village. Only if you leave can you obtain the power you seek – Power that only I can provide you, power such as the gift I have just bestowed upon you. Embrace that power and seek me out, only then can you possibly have the strength to strike Itachi down."

Tri growled in frustration, Muninn hadn't been able to hear what Orochimaru whispered. Standing up again Orochimaru removed his hand from Sasuke's chest and the pain returned full force. No build as there had been before, he was hit by everything all at once, he passed out.

The Sannin smiled and rolled his neck. In doing so his eyes landed on the mound of leaves he knew the Hokage's son had been left in. While he should have begun with his get-away his curiosity got the better of him.

"I've always wanted to take a look at Minato's eight-pointed seal," he quietly chuckled to himself. Slowly he began walking towards the large pile of red and brown leaves. It was a curiosity unto itself how the leaves had all accumulated in this one confined space and nowhere else.

Reaching in with a hand Orochimaru quickly found what felt like a leg and pulled. With little effort, he extracted the still unconscious Rezano from the foliage, a nasty looking bruise on his temple.

Orochimaru chuckled again as he dragged him over to Sasuke, "My, my. You're going to have one hell of a headache when you wake up."

Rolling him onto his back he again knelt down and unzipped the garish orange jacket revealing the mesh shirt underneath. Lifting that up he gently tapped a fingertip on Rezano's stomach, a small amount of chakra transferred from one to the other and the seal appeared. "Ah, there you are."

In response, Tri began releasing the weight seals spread across his person.

"What should I do with you?" Orochimaru wondered aloud. "I could put my own seal over Minato's to lock up the Kyūbi's chakra. Alternatively, I could give him my curse mark too, I wonder if he'd survive it? A Jinchuriki would be a magnificent asset."

" _Huginn!..."_

Orochimaru silently mulled over the issue for a few moments, weighing the pro's and con's.

He shook his head, "No, we can't have that," he said holding his hand up, what looked like flames of varying colours appeared on the tip of each finger and the thumb.

" _He intends to place a five-pointed suppression seal!"_ Tri said before falling silent, through Huginn's eyes he could see familiar sights, his Ravens were moments from reuniting as he began kneading copious amounts of chakra.

Orochimaru had been about to place the seal when the flapping of wings drew his attention. Looking up he saw a black-feathered bird swoop into the clearing, with a fluttering of its wings it slowed itself and landed on a high branch. There was very little light up there, it almost faded into the darkness and Orochimaru really had to focus to keep track of it. Then he spotted another, a second black bird and as far as he could tell they were identical.

"Huh, kinda looks like a Raven… Ah," he said awkwardly as both birds let out a loud squawk.

The inky blackness was suddenly contrasted by a plume of white smoke, the sound of sharpened metal streaking through the air. Orochimaru's plan to suppress the Kyūbi's chakra forgotten as he began dodging the hail of kunai and shuriken. A rapid sound of pitter-patter as they dug into the soft, earthy soil filling the air.

With the Sannin away from the two boys he breathed in and applied the spark, the reservoir of chakra ignited. " **Shakuton: Kami Hi Kaze no Jutsu**!" The focused stream of super-heated flame lit up the clearing and only Orochimaru's extreme speed prevented him from being incinerated. A hulking tree provided an insight into what would have happened to him.

Tri had concentrated the chakra so densely when kneading it had caused the temperature after ignition to skyrocket. When touched by the intense heat the tree didn't so much catch fire and more melted as the flames bit deep into the trunk, small hisses were accompanied by puffs of steam as water and sap were vaporized.

Tri landed on the ground, putting himself between Orochimaru and the boys. He ended his Jutsu, Divine Fire Wind was incredibly chakra intensive and even with his substantial reserves, he would have to pick his moments.

The Sannin tilted their head slightly to the side, captivated by the damage done to the tree. The bark and wood beneath were deeply charred, a few embers continued burning but there was about thirty square feet of bark missing, that's what held Orochimaru's attention.

Slowly running down the tree, pooling on the ground was black, thick, gloopy liquid. "Fascinating, the temperature you need to achieve to actually 'melt' wood like this… And yet you are able to generate it." His voice calm and intrigued, that Tri had attempted to torch him seemed a total none factor.

Orochimaru turned to face the new arrival, "Uzumaki Tri, this is an unexpected but most pleasant surprise," he cooed with that creepy smile/ smirk of his. "Orochimaru… I won't say similar – I'd be lying."

The Sannin chuckled, "How welcoming of you on my esteemed return home."

…

His eyes narrowed a little in annoyance after he received no reply, Orochimaru favoured verbal antagonising to gain an edge. "I take it the Ravens are yours?" he asked. Again no answer.

" _Are you sure, Tri-kun?"_ Muninn asked nervously. _"Yes, I'm not risking either of you by having you stay. I don't fancy explaining to your father how one or both of you got killed. See if you can track down Meshikamaru-san."_

" _Very well,_ " they both answered, their frustration was evident but they acquiesced to his request.

"You don't talk much do you?"  
"No. We're not here to exchange words."  
"I must admit, I've never seen a Raven summon before but you are correct. We're exchanging empty words."

In the blink of an eye, both launched Jutsu at one another. A stream of liquid mud from Orochimaru clashed with more flames, but Katon this time. And the switch from Shakuton to Katon was apparent. Orochimaru's Jutsu began pushing forward, a cloud of steam helping to obscured one from the other, perfect for Tri.

His hands were held in the Tiger seal, the seal most associated with Katon Jutsu but now Orochimaru couldn't see him he changed to the bird seal, synonymous with Fūton. And like the flip of a switch, his finely honed chakra control began mixing Fūton with Katon.

The rising steam kept Orochimaru in the dark until the last possible moment when a roaring torrent of fire near blindsided him as his stream of liquefied mud was enveloped and only through his great speed did he escape unscathed.

The steam, fire and mud cleared and Tri had won the opening engagement, he'd taken the centre of the clearing and was now best placed to dictate their fight. Never taking his eyes off Orochimaru two shadow clones appeared and got Team 7's two boys out of the combat zone before dispelling.

' _He's supposed to be really fast but lacking in close quarters. I need to test just how fast and how good his chakra control is, I can't risk getting caught up close by his Shakuton.'_ His hand twitched, a shuriken appearing between each finger and with a finely practised movement of the arm threw each of them.

The true mark of a veteran came from the differing speeds each shuriken possessed. Regardless each was dodged with ease, his feet never moving. The instance the final shuriken passed him he twisted his body, plucked it out of the air and returned it with vigour. Orochimaru leaned his head to the left, the shuriken streaked past his head and was lost in the bush beyond.

It quickly descended into a shooting range, shuriken and kunai flying all over the place. The blades of grass were accompanied by an array of bladed steel and trees came to resemble pin-cushions.

And on and on it continued, neither recycling a single one, both combatants utilising a seemingly endless supply of weaponry. But neither had drawn the others blood, not even a scratch. If a Genin were to stumble upon this clash, they'd have questioned its purpose, it didn't seem to be accomplishing anything.

But it would be highly unlikely a Genin would have developed the analytical eye to realise each was testing the other. Each surveying the others movements, awaiting the slightest mistake or miscalculation whilst simultaneously seeking a way of feigning that mistake to allow a decisive counterattack.

' _His strength lies in large area of effect Ninjutsu. So why does he continue this game?_ ' Orochimaru wondered plucking a kunai out of the air and throwing it back. The village was now aware of his presence, that was obvious to him and he was in no doubt that while they duelled ANBU teams were on the move.

Then it clicked. His eyes narrowed in anger. He was playing him, playing him for time. ' _I need to slip away before I'm swarmed under by ANBU. But HOW? This one isn't going to simply die,_ ' he thought with a growl, a shuriken cutting a few strands of his hair. He vented killing intent to relieve the annoyance building at the back of his mind.

The first step was simple, the back-and-forth throwing contest had to end. He dispensed with steel and turned to living weapons, a snake shot from his sleeve but Tri was expecting it, tipped off by the killing intent. It was a mistake on Orochimaru's part and a clue to Tri that he was getting under the Sannin's skin.

The poor snake, however, wasn't long for this world, Tri easily adjusted his stance to get clear of those venom-injecting fangs and cleaved the creature in half, it was all accomplished without once taking his eyes off of Orochimaru.

The Sannin growled again, his emotions were starting to take hold. But why? He could clearly sense his compromised emotional state but he couldn't figure out the cause. He considered himself a calm, patient Shinobi, so just what was this Uzumaki, over thirty years younger his junior, doing to get under his skin like this?

The constant questions only served to further distract him, another dozen strands of his hair met a kunai's edge.

"What are you doing?" he demanded to know. Tri didn't answer, instead, that neutral, emotionless expression went unchanged. There were games at work, Orochimaru was sure of it.

"I'm unimpressed," Tri said nonchalantly. "Excuse me?" Orochimaru said, his voice a mixture of confusion and scandal with growing tones of outrage. "You're boring me. I hate Jiraiya, but fighting him was more invigorating than this."

The Sannin's eyes bugged out, "The nerve! You would compare to that oaf! How dare you!" he screamed. He threw out every possible sensible course of action and charged forward with reckless abandon.

His eyes had a crazed look to them as his hands wove through a series of seals familiar to Tri.

" **Fūton: Daitoppa!** " Orochimaru declared before breathing in deeply and unleashing a furious gust of wind. A gale that never touched Tri, he simply disappeared, a kunai with a burning tag replacing him.

"What?" Orochimaru uttered, his Jutsu faltering, as that kunai, amongst many others, were blown away. A hard kick knocked the wind out of him and made him stumble forward. He quickly received a second kick to his upper right arm that lurched him to the left and into a tree. It was as he hit the tree that a familiar sound reached his ears, a deep whirring sound.

He saw a glint of blue before a great pressure slammed into his stomach pinning him in place. Looking down with dread the deep blue orb set to work. Was he truly about to be killed by the creation of the one Hiruzen chose to be the Yondaime over him?

Lifting his head back up he looked Tri dead in the eyes. "How? How did you do it?" he asked weakly. "The killing Intent," he bluntly replied, only after a look of confusion spread across Orochimaru's face did he elaborate. "Earlier, you briefly vented Killing Intent. Killing Intent is very good at disrupting emotions. When yours ended, I started releasing small amounts of my own, not enough to be easily noticeable but enough to start eating at your emotional state."

"Ah! I see, it makes sense now. I knew you were up to something but I couldn't put my finger on what. But using Killing Intent is so subtle a manner sounds quite fascinating. I'll have to remember that one for next time."  
"Next time?" Tri asked with a raised eyebrow, Orochimaru smiled weakly. "Of course, there is always a next time, after all…" He leaned in closer and whispered.

"After all, I played you."

Before his eyes the colour of Orochimaru's face darkened and sagged, his skin liquefied and began to melt. Tri's eyes widened in surprise as this thick, gloopy liquid ran over his hand. Within moments it solidified once more locking his Rasengan hand in place and he couldn't pull it free. He opened his mouth and laughed once.

"He played me," he chuckled before abruptly cutting himself off. The humorous look on his face vanished, his usual emotionless demeanour returning, "He played me," he said neutrally, his mind pouring over his memories, trying to find just when he'd made the switch.

Emotion began to show on his face again, having the wool pulled over his eyes brought that deep pit of usually suppressed anger to the fore, it built inside him as his breathing slowed and deepened.

Around him more than a dozen shadow clones appeared in a cloud of smoke. Tri was silent a moment before bellowing, "FIND HIM!" The clones were out of sight in mere moments but the anger kept building.

"He played me," he said a final time.

Firmly grasping his chakra he poured it through his left arm and the Rasengan burst in life once more and swelled in size. Orochimaru's mud clone was devoured then came the tree. The bark was ripped apart, the swirling mass of chakra soon digging deep into the dense, tough wood beneath. His hand was now free but he continued, the luminous blue sphere continuing to grow until the tree above him could no longer support its own weight and gravity took hold.

The deep snapping of wood broke Tri out his anger fuelled mental haze long enough for him to move out of the way. The Rasengan in his hand shrank back down but didn't extinguish, he felt the great urge to kill something, someone and he knew exactly how to fill the void as his eyes fell on the trail of damage caused by Orochimaru's snake summon.

* * *

-(*)-

End Chapter


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

* * *

All Alone

-(*)-

Tri had severed his connection with them. He had done so as soon as he'd sent them away, maintaining that link required constant attention, attention he would otherwise need to battle Orochimaru. But now the Sannin was gone with the wind he re-established the mental link, he allowed his anger and frustration to permeate through it.

The amount of emotion they were being exposed to concerned them both as their flight in pursuit of Gatapishi continued.

Furthermore with the connection re-opened they could sense where Tri was and he was gaining on them fast. Closer and closer he drew before eventually, at a speed they could never hope to match, he shot past beneath them.

Meshikamaru was still hesitant in what to do, to see Gatapishi stomach what must have been absolute agony to focus on getting out from under the tree she'd brought down. She was hesitating, she hadn't moved and instead watched on with dread as Gatapishi's venom went to work breaking down the fibrous material of the tree.

A figure shot into the clearing sliding to a halt in front of her. They showed their back to her but she recognised their hair, a mix of black and red. "Tri-san?"

He didn't say anything, he just stood there. His silence doing nothing to alleviate her anxiety.

Bringing his hand out to his side, palm down, he held the snake's lidless gaze. He took a step forward, then another. Gatapishi watched on suspiciously, the immense pain he felt fought down for now. He opened his maw as wide as he could, bearing his fangs to try and warn this individual off. Tri's slow march continued.

Gatapishi's jaws slammed together but found nothing but air. He felt a hand against his scales and he was taken aback. A warmth spread through him, it felt almost pleasant.

But while the frog could jump out of the boiling water, the snake could not escape. The heat he felt emanating from that hand grew and spread. He began to writhe as it became uncomfortable but Tri had, through the use of chakra, 'glued' hand to scale. And unabated the rising heat continued to spread.

The havoc wrought on Gatapishi nervous system inhibited his ability to coil his body properly, he couldn't reach this Shinobi.

Discomfort gave way to pain as heated scales began to sear the flesh below. Gatapishi hissed as the burning sensations spread through him. He tried to reverse-summon himself, he tried to go home – but he couldn't. Panic began to set in.

Tri stood unmoved as Shakuton chakra continued to flow into the giant snake's body, he didn't need to ignite it, Shakuton always provided a blazing heat. He had hijacked Gatapishi's chakra network by flooding it with his own chakra, he was going nowhere.

The risks to himself were nil, he wasn't straining his own chakra network. There was no application of shape transformation nor was he condensing the chakra.

He never relented as Gatapishi's hisses grew louder and more desperate. Wisps of steam began escaping from the snake's mouth as the water in his cells boiled. And as poison used blood to spread, Tri's Shakuton used Gatapishi's chakra network to spread further.

It dragged on for minutes and Meshikamaru could only watch on, aghast, when Gatapishi finally collapsed and stopped moving, steam now forcing its way out from between scales. The light faded from his yellow eyes and then the entire corpse vanished.

The vanishing startled her. Only a pool of blood remained. "When a summon dies, the body returns to their clan's realm. It will serve as warning." Tri was looking at her as a cloud seemed to lift from his facial features. "Warning?" she asked but any answer was interrupted by two clones dropping down from the trees above, Sasuke and Rezano over their shoulders.

She hurried over as the clones gently put them down before dispelling. Both were still unconscious. She tried to rouse them with a few light slaps to the cheek but neither stirred. Pulling back Rezano's eyelid his pupil wouldn't focus while Sasuke was covered in a cold sweat.

Lifting his Hitai-ate she placed the back of her hand against the Uchiha's forehead, it felt as if he had a fever. Then she noticed it, three-tailed circles on his neck. "Tri-san… What is this?" she asked.

The instant he laid eyes on it he was knelt down next to her, "Move aside," he ordered and she couldn't have jumped out of the way quick enough. He lightly tapped his index and middle fingers against the seal, nothing happened and he growled lowly. The seal was almost completely hidden.

Placing his index and pinkie fingers and thumb against Sasuke's neck he formed a triangle around the seal and applied chakra. He felt the resistance immediately as his quarantine barrier formed around Orochimaru's 'gift'.

Closing his eyes he tentatively pushed further only to be stopped by two separate chakra signatures, he immediately recognised the first as Sasuke's but it felt different, tainted almost. He couldn't be sure but he envisioned the second signature belonged to Orochimaru. He growled again, this was going to be a problem.

"Is he going to die?"  
"I don't know," he answered quickly trying to keep his attention focused on the seal. "What's wrong with him?" she immediately followed with. "I don't know…"  
"What's is tha…" she was cut off mid-sentence by a sharp glare he sent her way.

" _Remember, she isn't you, Tri-kun,"_ Huginn reminded him, _"Her emotions aren't as cut off as yours._ " The Uzumaki sighed and looked at her again. Being chased around the forest by a massive snake and her two teammates being KO'ed had shaken her up. Talented or no, she was still just thirteen.

He took a breath and summoned a shadow clone. "Meshikamaru-san, direct any questions to me and quietly please, the boss needs to focus." She nodded glumly as Tri handed the clone a stack of small journals which the clone quickly began leafing through.

"What is it exactly?" she quietly asked in as calm a voice as she could manage. "It's some kind of invasive Fūinjutsu. Boss is trying to nail exactly which one."

"It's far more advanced but it's definitely **Ten no Juin** ," (Heavens' Curse Mark) Tri said a few moments later and the clone spat in disgust discarding the journal it held, and picking up another.

"I-is that bad?"  
"Yes," the clone said honestly. "What does it do?" The clone lifted its eyes to look at her, "You don't want to know," they said grimly.

The **Ten no Juin** could perhaps best be described as an 'addiction'. It corrupted the host's chakra in an attempt to meld with them. If the meld failed, the host died. If successful it would attempt to force the host to depend on the power boost it provided. If the seal won out they would be bound to Orochimaru's whim and will.

But unknown to all was that upon a successful meld, this updated variant of Ten no Juin would begin to eat away at Sasuke's mind and soul. Eventually, nothing but a physical shell would remain, just as Orochimaru intended.

"Do you know how to fix it?" She received no answer. "You do know how to fix it, right?"  
"I don't know, Meshikamaru, maybe. Look, why don't you try and find somewhere we can move these two where they'll be hidden and safe." She glumly nodded.

"Boss?" the clone said as Meshikamaru left. "I can't get at the arrays beneath Orochimaru's chakra, it's actively fighting back. Does my journals have anything?"  
"Make the Triangle Stasis Seal permanent?" was its first suggestion but Tri shook his head. "Won't work, Orochimaru's chakra would eat at the seal and it'll eventually fail if I didn't constantly recharge it."

The clone flicked over a page. "Use the Fūja Hōin?" was the next suggestion but again Tri shook his head. "The melding is incomplete, it might kill him."  
"He already has a 9/10 chance of dying," the clone quietly reminded him. "I am aware!" Tri snapped back.

Gah, he'd have loved to have more up to date information on this damned seal but Anko had steadfastly refused to let any of Konoha's pre-eminent Fūinjutsu experts inspect it since she'd first gotten it. But with Sasuke now afflicted by it, Tri had half a mind to get a Subpoena from the Hokage to force a detailed inspection of Anko's variant.

The clone hurriedly leafed through a few more pages, their options were running low. "Hmm. How about burning out or destroying Orochimaru's chakra imprint?" This latest suggestion left Tri grumbling, "I'm hesitant to try that. The imprint already replenishes itself on Sasuke's chakra. It might replicate itself faster than I can destroy it."

"You could try using small quantities of Shakuton?" Something Tri immediately rejected, "Kami no!" he briefly glanced over at the large pool of blood that had drained from Gatapishi. Sasuke was far smaller than the Snake but even tiny amounts of Shakuton might yield the same results.

"Could you leave a piece of your own chakra to counter-balance Orochimaru's?" the clone said more out of curiosity than as an actual suggestion.

…

Tri had been ready to dismiss it but he held and thought a moment. "Possibly," he said, "But my own chakra would have to leech off of Sasuke's to maintain itself. He'll have a small but constant drain to his chakra until the seal can be removed. And there's no guarantee it will stop the melding."  
"No, it probably won't. But it might prevent the addictive element."

Tri blew out a breath. Removing the seal, for now at least, was out of the question. Mitigating the negative side-effects did seem the best option. "Ok, let's do it. You'll have to take over the Triangle Seal," he instructed his clone.

Carefully his doppelganger replaced Tri's fingers and thumb to ensure the seal didn't fail. With the switch-over complete Tri focused chakra into a single fingertip.

As they worked Meshikamaru returned from her brief search. She remained silent following a finger on the lips gesture from the clone. The silence allowed Tri to concentrate. Slowly he lowered his finger and made the lightest of contact with the skin between the three tailed circles.

The effect was immediate, the seal morphed slightly. The three black circles, formerly filled in, now featured a thin spiral the same colour as Sasuke's skin. Something Tri hadn't expected but it didn't seem to have destabilised the seal at all. "I believe it's worked," he said quietly. The clone released the Stasis seal, as he did Tri couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to come back and bite him.

"Did you find somewhere to put them?" The Uzumaki asked Meshikamaru as the clone dispelled. Looking down at Sasuke's curse mark she gulped nervously but nodded. She hefted Rezano up into a fireman's carry as Tri picked up Sasuke. Without a word she led the Jōnin to what she'd found.

They didn't have to travel very far and it was as they did that Tri realised that the sun had already set. It was difficult to see at the best of times but it'd soon be pitch-black. Meshikamaru came to stop in front of a weird looking tree. The tree itself was fine but its thickest roots were visible, the earth it had grown in had subsided sometime in the past leaving a space between the tree's base and the ground. It made for a bizarre sight but it seemed stable.

The young Nara lay Rezano down as Tri looked around. The roots while thick and strong were few in number, you'd be able to see anyone hidden under it with ease, wherever you were looking from.

He had already devised a solution but he'd really be pushing the boundaries in regards to 'helping' Team 7. He thought a few moments more as Meshikamaru took Sasuke from him, laying him down next to Rezano. ' _Team 7 are still suffering the after-effects of Orochimaru's interference. That's justification enough._ '

His Doton wasn't that great, especially when compared to the likes of Naruto, but it was sufficient for this as he wove a few quick hand-seals. Placing his palm on the ground he let loose his chakra, grasping at the earth around him he pulled.

The moving earth began piling around Meshikamaru. It encircled her hideout, a wall of earth hiding the space within leaving only a narrow gap by which she could enter and exit. With it all in place Tri willed the soft earth to harden locking it all in place. He quickly inspected it for any flaws or gaps and nodded when none were found.

Looking inside it was hardly spacious but the three of them weren't crammed together like Sardines in a tin. Meshikamaru was laying a damp cloth over Sasuke's forehead. "I have to leave shortly," he said abruptly. The look on her face screamed anxious and Tri mentally sighed, 'She i _sn't me…_ ' he said repeating Huginn's words from earlier.

"Look, the person who attacked you was not a participant in the exam, so I intervened. But now they're gone I have to leave too." Strangely enough that look of worry didn't lessen and he sighed again, vocally this time.

Drawing from one of his storage seals he held out his hand and deposited half a dozen glow-sticks in her lap. "These should last several hours each," he said picking one up and cracking it. A pale green glow filled the confined space. The glow really helped illuminate the worry in her eyes at being left alone here.

She was going to need more than glow-sticks to keep her fear at bay. He sent out a mental request and held up his arm, a few seconds later two birds landed on his outstretched limb.

"Meshikamaru, this is Muninn and Huginn. They are my personal summons and the reason why I knew you were in trouble. For the remainder of this exam, they go where you go. Everything that happens to you I'll know about. If that person from earlier comes back I'll be here immediately. I'm going to head to the tower so I won't be far away, okay?"

Tri hoped his words helped calm her, he knew he was rubbish at this stuff. He was therefore relieved to see the muscles in her face relax a little as she nodded.

The two Ravens took off again heading for a high branch to keep watch from. Tri replaced all the equipment she'd lost fighting Gatapishi and warned her to be wary of the Otogakure team before he too departed.

Silence fell and Meshikamaru looked out at undisturbed darkness beyond her hideaway. The glow stick provided enough light for her to see around but it didn't even a foot outside the narrow entrance.

She didn't know how long it would for either of her teammates to recover. She sighed as she looked back out into the night, she was going to have to set traps before daybreak. She wasn't looking forward to that.

It was going to be a long night.

-(*)-

There was no one alive who knew these trees as she did. She knew the absolute no go zones and she knew the 'safest' routes through the forest. But all that accumulated knowledge was worthless right now because she had no idea which direction to go. Should she head north? Perhaps South?

Landing on a branch she let out an exacerbated breath. Where could he be? She and the ANBU teams had been searching for hours now and found no trace. She was fairly certain it was past midnight, Orochimaru surely had made his escape by now… Her senses picked up the faintest of… something. Something that made her grin.

"I need to find him and keep him occupied long enough to draw the attention of an ANBU team or two. This is my responsibility, my duty. it's what I learnt from the man who taught me." Two kunai with special tags slipped into her right hand.

"Isn't that right, Sensei?" she said menacingly.

Orochimaru chuckled, the same condescending chuckle Anko remembered. "My, my, little Anko, is that you? Goodness, how you've grown."

All talk was cut off as Anko spun releasing the two kunai in opposite directions. The tags triggered immediately bathing the surrounding forest in bright white light as white phosphorous burned. Orochimaru's extendable tongue shot from his mouth coiling around her left wrist as a set of senbon dropped between her fingers.

Its grip was tight so she dropped the senbon and grabbed the tongue with both hands, a pair of snakes emerging from her sleeves and biting down as well. Then she pulled hard.

Orochimaru had disguised himself as part of a tree trunk just before Anko had arrived. Now he was violently yanked forward, then up and suddenly back down as Anko performed a two-handed overhead swing that brought the Sannin down heavily.

Bark fractured under the impact but Orochimaru immediately countered. Planting his feet he filled his leg muscles with chakra and pushed off sending himself straight at Anko. He slammed into her stomach head first knocking the wind out of her and driving her back into the tree trunk.

Releasing her grip on his tongue a kunai dropped from her sleeve as she spun them around and grabbed his wrist. Driving his wrist against the tree she held her hand over his and drove her kunai through both. Both growled with pain as Anko leant her forehead against his. "Well Sensei, appears I've got you," she grinned. "Can I borrow your hand?"

His eyebrows furrowed as her fingers interlaced with his. Her index finger shot up and his eyebrows furrowed further. Then she raised her pinkie and he understood, "You wouldn't!" he said in alarm. "Oh yes I would! I'd happily die if it meant taking you with me."

" **Sōjasōsai no Jutsu** ," (Twin Snakes Mutual Death Technique) Anko said with alarming eagerness.

"Oh ho, you actually mean to commit suicide – Just to kill little ol' me." That chuckle returned, "How precious," Orochimaru giggled. Anko heard but had been watching him, his mouth hadn't moved… "Oh no," she uttered.

"Oh yes," Orochimaru replied, "You were about to kill a clone."

Before Anko's eyes, Orochimaru's features liquefied and all colour drained away as the clone reverted to the mud it was made from leaving Anko dumbfounded, her hand still pinned to the tree.

She turned her head, the real Orochimaru was standing a few feet behind her. Grabbing at the burnt layer of skin covering his face he ripped it off to reveal flawless, pale skin beneath, purple eyeshadow surrounding narrow-slitted eyes.

Yanking the kunai out of her hand she turned to face him properly. "Why are you here? Why now?" she said glumly. He wasn't immediately forthcoming with an answer. Instead, he raised a hand to form the seal of confrontation.

Anko hadn't felt the slightest twinge of pain from her curse mark in years. But now it returned full-force, she dropped to her knees grasping at the mark on her neck as tendrils of white-hot pain lanced through her body.

"Why are you here?" she repeated through gritted teeth, desperately trying to hide her pain. "Are you after Sandaime-sama, still?"  
"Oh heavens no," he said in a voice that almost sounded sincere. "I lack the means to go after him – for now," he added with a whisper. "No, not today. I'm here scouting out those with a special talent, those with extraordinary abilities, abilities few now possess."

He walked towards her and the pain coursing through her increased, beads of sweat ran down her face as she fought to stay conscious. ' _Where the hell is a fucking ANBU team when you need them,_ ' she thought angrily as he knelt down in front of her, his snake-like eyes staring into hers.

"In fact, I've left one with a parting gift." He grinned, "You should rejoice Anko, you aren't the only one to bear my mark anymore."

"So you've condemned them then?" she snarled but Orochimaru shook his head. "No, Anko. He'll live, I'm certain, he's too strong-willed, just like you. Besides, did you think I'd have taken the risk of giving him the mark if I thought it would kill him?"

He stood again, "No, Anko. He'll live and he'll make a fine vessel, perhaps the perfect one?" he said whimsically.

Anko was on the brink of passing out, her vision was narrowing, distorting. "I foresee interesting times ahead my dear Anko, interesting times indeed." He turned to leave but stopped himself, "Oh and when you see the Uzumaki, pass on my apologies for my early departure. I could sense he was quite angry when he realised."

The pain from her curse mark went up another notch and Anko blacked out, she fell forward. Orochimaru thought for a moment whether to simply push her off the branch and fall to her death but he shook his head. "No, there's no point. The end of her and this damned village will come soon enough."

He shunshined away as the final embers of Anko's phosphorous tags burnt away, darkness fell once more.

-(*)-

Morning dawned as a few scattered rays began to break through the canopy above.

Meshikamaru's night had been long and nerve-shredding. She hadn't slept a wink and her exhaustion was weighing her down. Her eyelids felt as if they were made of lead. She'd been skittish all night, on edge at the slightest breath of wind or rustle of leaves from the forests nocturnal wildlife.

It had taken until the early hours for her to summon the courage to step out into the darkness to lay her traps. And what a miserable experience that had proven to be. She'd left her glow-stick behind in the hideaway to minimise the chance of anything finding her. It seemed to take forever to set them all and because she couldn't see she almost set some of them off more than once.

But leaning her head out the entrance she looked up at the canopy, reassured that morning had definitely arrived. Scanning the high branches she couldn't see either of the Ravens Tri had left to watch over her. She wondered what they thought of her fumbling around when laying her traps, ' _Wonder if birds can face-palm with their wings?_ '

She sighed and looked back at her teammates. Neither had woken at any point during the night, Rezano had barely moved and while Sasuke was breathing a little easier his fever hadn't broken.

She sighed again, unaware her start to the morning was about to get worse.

Come on, Dosu. It's dawn already, can we make our move yet?" Zaku said impatiently, his hands fidgeting ceaselessly. The sole Otogakure team's leader Dosu tilted his head to the side as he usually did while thinking. ' _Our orders did say to wait until dawn…_ ' he mused to himself.

He could hear the third member of their team, Kin mumbling to his side. Probably grumbling about Zaku again, she disliked his lack of patience, he didn't either but to honest, he didn't like either of them. He exhaled deeply, "Fine," he said quietly.

"Remember our target is the Uchiha," he said firmly. "Does that mean we get to kill the other two?" Zaku asked fervently. Dosu looked over at him, that stupid look on his face. ' _Kami, it's like commanding a child…_ '

"I guess," Dosu shrugged not really caring what happened to them.

A few more minutes passed and the sun rose a little higher, a few more rays of light penetrating to the forest floor below. Meshikamaru could actually see the whole clearing now. She was pondering how much longer it might be before one of her teammates awoke when something drew her attention.

"Is that… a Squirrel?" she quietly asked herself. A furry little thing had just hopped into the clearing. With a long fluffy tail, large ears and eyes and what looked like clawed feet and paws certainly suggested it was a Squirrel.

"Why is it on the ground?" she wondered noticing what looked like a nut between its paws. Perhaps it had come down from a tree to nab it? None of the trees in eyeshot seemed to produce nuts though. And why hadn't it rushed back up a tree? Surely the forest floor wasn't safe.

Whatever the critters reason it was making its way towards her which set her on edge and left her suspicious, much closer and it'd start setting off her traps. And directly scaring it away would give her away if anyone was indeed watching.

Her mind, though slowed by fatigue, whirred as she concocted possibilities to scare it off until she found one she liked. Pulling out a few senbon she threw one, not at the squirrel, but at a bush on the edge of the clearing. She threw it hard, it's passing through the bush made it rustle. The Squirrels head shot round in a flash.

It sniffed the air, twisted its ears listening for a potential predator but it didn't run so she threw a second. Aiming for another bush closer to the furry intruder pushed the 'Fight-Flight' response into flight and it hurried away towards the nearest tree.

She breathed a sigh of relief as Zaku grumbled, "Gah. Did she spot the explosive tag we stuck on the stupid thing?"  
"No, I don't think so," Dosu shook his head. "I couldn't tell if she scared it away or if something else did."  
"So what now?"  
"I guess we get a little closer." Zaku seemed to like that plan judging by the wide grin on his face.

He jumped down to the ground and simply walked out into the clearing. "That's not what… Oh, what's the use, I'm surrounded by idiots," a crestfallen Dosu said quietly. He followed his headstrong teammate out into the clearing, Kin right behind him. At least she'd retained enough common sense to not simply give herself away.

It was pretty obvious they knew she was here, all three of them were looking right at her. "So… Are you going to come out yourself or do we have to flush you out?" one of them shouted over. She looked down at her two still teammates, ' _Splendid._ '

With a sigh of resignation, she stepped out of her hideaway and into the open, careful not to step on her trap triggers just yet. She got a proper look at the three of them, she frowned, "Who wears the word 'death' on their clothes?" That earned her a growl of annoyance from one and what sounded like chuckles from the other two.

"You two can fuck right off," Zaku shouted at them before returning his ire to Meshikamaru. "And as for you, I wear this so people who get in my way know what to expect." Meshikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Really?... That is tragic," she deadpanned, Zaku's teammates descended into chuckles once again.

Zaku looked ready to snap so Dosu reined him in, "Compose yourself Zaku, they're only words – even if they're true." The bandaged Shinobi could see her comments for what they were, attempts to anger Zaku, standard procedure for Shinobi. But of course, Zaku was a fool as he'd just demonstrated.

"Alright, times a 'wastin. Now Nara, go wake Sasuke." She didn't move. "Please?" Dosu added in addendum tilting his head slightly. "And why would I do that?" she now answered in a casual tone. "Because the three of us want to take him on."  
"What? All three of you? Goodness, how brave. Do you normally have to go three on one?" Zaku and the girl's faces darkened at her insinuation.

Dosu grumbled to himself, neither of his teammates could see the attempt to wind them up. "Are you going to wake Sasuke or not?" Dosu asked. She seemed to think on it for a few seconds but ultimately shook her head, "Nah.

"He's currently indisposed thanks to your associate leaving a curse mark on his neck," she explained and the Oto trio actually looked shocked.

Tri had briefly explained the association between these three and the one who'd attacked them yesterday before leaving. But her reference to the curse mark seemed to have been responsible for their looks of shock. Did they know what it was?

Seconds ticked by and two of them still looked shocked but the third, the one with wrappings around his face seemed to have composed himself. ' _Curse mark… Is she lying – no, she can't be, she wouldn't know about it otherwise. What is Orochimaru playing at? Why order us to kill the Uchiha if he was going to give him the curse mark?_ '

And then it clicked into place and single visible eye narrowed. ' _So that's your game huh. Thanks, but no thanks. I am not some Shogi piece to be sacrificed._ ' An idea formed in his head that made him grin behind the wrappings. ' _What a shame it would be if Orochimaru's newest toy actually died._ '

Zaku meanwhile had exhausted what little patience he had left. He stepped forward only for Dosu to raise an arm out to stop him. "Use your brain for once in your life," the team leader chastised before stepping forward himself. "You would do well to pay attention, Zaku. There's a reason she hasn't stepped out into the clearing proper."

Dosu knelt down in front of a patch of grass that to a Shinobi's eye clearly didn't belong. "Freshly upturned stones and exposed soil, irregularly placed grass. You aren't very good at hiding traps Nara. And Zaku, you're an idiot for not noticing them."  
"So we need to take her out first then?" Zaku said, displaying once again his one track mind. But this time Dosu agreed with him, "I think we do."

All three crouched before leaping into the air to begin their attack. ' _Well, that was easy…_ ' she thought looking up at a kunai hung perhaps forty feet above them. Under each of her feet was the trigger for a trap, she merely lifted her right leg.

Dosu spotted a glint of light from further up. Lifting his head he spotted a kunai, it looked like there was a tag attached to it, it was a little difficult to tell.

Then it vanished. And in its place appeared a huge log perhaps as long as the clearing was wide and surely weighed tonnes. Nothing held it up, it began to fall towards them, "The Trap was above us all along!" Dosu shouted in alarm before he started laughing.

"Only joking," he chuckled lifting up an arm revealing some kind of metal device around his forearm, Meshikamaru couldn't tell. Whatever it was it made contact with the log and it exploded instantly.

The three of them landed safely amidst a shower of wooden fragments, big and small. They'd only covered perhaps half the distance to Meshikamaru who in response lifted her left foot.

Two short spring loaded metal canisters leapt out from the ground. Dosu recognised them instantly, they were nasty little things called Jumping Senbon Mines, or JSM's for short. When tripped they jumped up and unleashed hundreds of senbon in every direction.

Thankfully Zaku recognised what they were too. Raising a palm to face each of them he shouted, " **Zankūha!** " (Decapitating Airwaves) The swarm of senbon fired were met by a wall of dense air pressure. The sharp metal implements were scattered all over. The sudden burst of wind kicked much of the smaller wooden shrapnel back into the air forcing the four of them to cover their eyes.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Dosu almost congratulated when the cloud of wooden debris cleared. "Didn't think a Konoha Shinobi had it in them to use JSM's, vicious little things. But it looks like you've played your hand. Zaku, get rid of her."

The Oto nin grinned while something caught Meshikamaru's attention out of the corner of her eye. It was a shadow, and it appeared to be… ' _Oh, I see_.' Zaku aimed his palms at her.

Then there was a second shadow, she looked up. ' _I recognise that outfit,_ ' she thought. All three Oto nin saw it too but only Dosu moved fast enough to dodge.

" **Konoha Senpū!** " the new arrival shouted as the blows rained down on Zaku and Kin sending both skirting across the clearing collecting senbon as they rolled and skidded across the ground.

Stood in front of Meshikamaru was Rock Lee, one arm tucked behind his back, the other held out in front of him in a Taijutsu stance. And on his shoulder… the Squirrel from earlier.

"And who are you?" Dosu asked lamely. Spoken only for matters of punctuality rather than any actual interest in their name.

"I am Konoha's Handsome Blue Beast, Rock Lee!" Meshikamaru cringed slightly as Dosu tilted his head again. As he did his teammates picked themselves up, both hissing in pain as they pulled out senbon.

"I won't complain about your timing Lee-san, but why are you here? And what's with the Squirrel?" Meshikamaru asked moving to stand next to him.

"Actually, it was thanks to my new friend here that I came across you at all. I had challenged myself to a game of 'Catch all the leaves before they touch the ground'. And as I went to catch the final leaf I overheard this one in distress." He paused for breath as he put the Squirrel down on the ground, it quickly scurrying off.

"Someone had attached an explosive tag to the poor thing, a tag with a short fuse too. It was after I'd removed the tag that I heard a commotion which led me here." Dosu's head looked like it was going to roll off his shoulders and Meshikamaru raised an eyebrow. "That's nice Lee… But it doesn't explain why you intervened."

Lee turned his head to look at her. He gave her a toothy smile, winked and held a thumb up for that asinine 'Good Guy Pose'. But he said nothing which spoke volumes to the young Nara. ' _He didn't have a reason… *Sigh* whatever, I'll take the help where I can get it. Speaking of help…_ ,' she thought, her eyes briefly glancing back at that hedge.

"So. Do we get to kill this one too?" Zaku angrily demanded to know. Dosu picked his head up, "I guess…

"But unibrows mine," he quickly added which earned him a few choice words from Zaku.

"You alright dealing with this one, Lee-san? I'm not really suited to close-quarters combat."  
"I'd be delighted!" he said joyously before simply vanishing. No one had time to react before he was through Dosu's guard landing a heavy kick to his stomach. Kin found herself pushed back under a hail of kunai and senbon from Meshikamaru before she could counter Lee's attack.

Lee unleashed a furious chain and punches and kicks on Dosu. The Oto nin couldn't keep up with the speed of Lee's attacks. For each move he dodged or blocked another one would get through and he was quickly beginning to feel the collective punishment he was receiving then in a flash Lee was through his guard again delivering a heavy kick to his chin snapping his head back and lifting him off the ground.

He was still seeing stars when he heard Lee's voice in his ears, "I'm not done with you yet." His voice seemed to carry much more menace that it had earlier as bandages began to constrict around his body. ' _What is he doing?_ '

Meshikamaru kept Kin moving, she didn't know what techniques and abilities she might possess and she had no interest in finding out so she kept up her relentless attacks. She knew she couldn't keep it up though, her store of weapons would run out soon and despite the adrenaline boost her body provided her she still felt her exhaustion weighing her down.

She noticed Dosu was airborne out of the corner of her eye, ' _Is that the same move Lee tried to use on Sasuke?_ ' she wondered as Lee locked his arms around the Oto Shinobi. As they barrelled towards the ground Lee began rotating the both of them.

Faster and faster they span, Meshikamaru and Kin came to a complete stop and just watched them both draw closer to the ground.

" **Omote Renge!** " (Forward Lotus) Lee shouted as he slammed Dosu into the ground head first, Lee leapt clear at the last moment to make his escape. The impact sounded hard as a cloud of dirt and dust plumed around the impact shrouding Dosu for a few moments.

That shroud cleared as Lee touched down. Dosu was half buried in the dirt but the ground didn't look right to Lee's eye. There should have been a small impact crater a few inches to a foot deep but instead the ground seemed to have swelled up.

"Whew, looks like I just made it," Zaku said and Lee winced. Not only because that raised earth emanated from a knelt down Zaku, his palms pressed into the dirt. But because of the short, sharp pain in his abdomen, performing this technique took a lot out of him.

It took a few moments, but Dosu started to move and he was able to pull himself free with little trouble. Dusting himself off he stood, "Wow. What a technique! Zaku softened the soil and it still almost did a number on me." He locked his gaze on Lee as he pulled one of his long sleeves up to reveal that device on his forearm.

Lee tried to stand up straight as Dosu began moving towards him but his abdomen refused to loosen as the muscles ceased up. ' _Oh, this isn't good…_ ,' Lee thought. "But now it's my turn!" Dosu said with a cackle as he swung.

His swing wasn't all that fast, so Lee was able to avoid it by stepping back a little and to the side. A moment passed then his senses went haywire. His vision distorted and his ears rung as his balance failed him. He was forced to drop to one knee.

"You're quick kid, there's no denying that but we're faster. You could say we're supersonic," he chuckled as Lee suffered the same fate as Kabuto the day before and emptied his stomach onto the ground.

Throwing up seemed to help as his senses slowly began returning to normal and as they did he felt something wet dripping down the side of his face and he could feel a growing pain in his ear. He placed his bandaged left palm against his head, pulling it back he saw the wrappings had been dyed red. His ear canal was bleeding.

He placed his hand back against the ear as the pain briefly spiked before subsiding.

"It's this device on my arm. No matter how fast you are, you can't avoid or block my attacks. Do you know why?"  
"Sound," Meshikamaru answered after a few moments of Lee remaining silent. "Precisely. And you surely understand that the fundamental nature of sound revolves around vibrations… yes?"

Dosu turned to face Meshikamaru," When you hear a sound, what you hear are the vibrations meeting the Tympanic Membrane, your eardrum. Apply a powerful enough vibration and you can rupture that membrane and upset the fluid with the semi-circular canals that control balance."

"So you see," Zaku picked up as he pulled his hands out of the ground. "Physical techniques just won't work against us. You did start out well though," he finished in a patronising tone. "But the tide had turned now," Dosu said ominously, "Zaku, will you get rid of the girl."

And Zaku was at Meshikamaru's side, his palm aimed straight at her head. She just grinned at him, "You ever played Shogi?" she suddenly asked. Zaku found himself locked in place.

 **A few moments earlier out of sight**

"What do you mean?" a female voice hissed quietly. Her teammate sighed, "Look, Meshikamaru knows we're here. The moment she gives the signal use your mind transfer Jutsu on the girl, ok?" She scowled at him, "Fine," she harrumphed.

They could hear one of the Oto nin talking about sound or something, Shikamaru only had ears for his twin as he awaited her signal. He had to give it to his sibling, she'd positioned herself well. The girl Ino would be aiming at was mere meters away and Shikamaru was no more than ten feet from his sister when he heard it.

"You ever played shogi?"  
"Now, Ino," Shikamaru whispered.

" **Shintenshin no Jutsu**." (Mind Body Switch Technique)

" **Kagemane no Jutsu**." (Shadow Imitation Technique)

In the blink of an eye, Ino slumped over, she was caught by Choji as Shikamaru's shadow weaved across the ground to connect with Zaku's.

"Well… Zaku? What are you waiting for?" a confused Dosu asked. He was in a position to blow Meshikamaru away but he hadn't done anything. "I-I can't," he said through clenched teeth, to Dosu his voice sounded strained. "My body won't do what I tell it to."

Dosu levelled a glare at a smirking Meshikamaru, "Nara," he said coldly as it clicked. "She's controlling you through your shadow." He was about to tell Kin to intervene when he realised she hadn't already. She already held a Senbon between each of her fingers but she hadn't moved.

"Kin?"  
"Kin's not here anymore asshole," Kin replied and Dosu levelled his gaze at Meshikamaru once more, the look in his eye demanding an answer. "Yamanaka," she said with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders.

"This is an interesting state of affairs we find ourselves in, isn't it Dosu-san," Meshikamaru said diplomatically taking a few steps towards him. "Now if you want your teammates returned unharmed. Then you should hand over your scroll and…"

She was cut off by Dosu's laughter and this time she tilted her head. "What, may I ask is so funny?"  
"It's just…" he tried to say, the words tripping over his laughter, "It's just, I don't give a damn about either of them," he explained. ' _Especially since Orochimaru deems us as disposable,_ ' he mentally added.

"What? But they're your teammates?!"  
"And? All three of us don't like each other, I actually dislike them both. And we're only a 'team' for convenience sake so we could slot into this exam.

"So you see, little Nara. I don't care what happens to them," he said lifting the arm bearing his noise amplifier, chakra beginning to circulate through it. "I guess I could call them… Collateral damage," he said in far too casual a manner for Meshikamaru to think him bluffing.

"Cover your ears!" she instructed with a shout as Dosu swung at the air in front of him, a wave of invisible super-charged air-waves raced towards them at a frightening speed. Shikamaru and Ino were forced to release their respective techniques in order to protect themselves. But in doing so delayed their reactions a little. Meanwhile, Choji got caught in two minds whether to cover his own ears or Ino's.

A now freed Zaku at least had been consciously aware of what was coming, Kin wasn't so lucky after Ino's consciousness had suppressed her own. Zaku through his own techniques was able to blunt much of the energised sound-waves, Kin got hit full force.

She went down amid a torrent of pained screams, not that anyone other than Dosu heard them. They were subjected to a ringing sensation that shook the very foundations of their minds, their very bones seemed to shake. But Kin's senses were exposed to a sound of such pitch and volume that her eardrums almost immediately succumbed and ruptured. The pain of them rupturing was preferable.

Meshikamaru was dazed, a ringing echo lingered. Unfortunately for her someone else recovered faster, she turned to face the sound of footsteps somewhere behind her where she found herself staring down Zaku's palm, an evil grin on his face. " **Zankūha!** "

It was difficult to describe, it was like being hit with a sledgehammer everywhere at once. The force catapulted her across the clearing uncontrollably. She hit a tree and rag-dolled off it landing on the ground on a heap.

It felt as if she blacked out before her eyes flickered open. Her teeth clenched as the searing pain in her shoulder reached the Somatosensory Cortex of her brain. Every other sensation, sound, touch, smell and taste were blocked out by the pain in her shoulder as she doggedly tried to rise.

Struggling to stand she felt a wet sensation running down her face, it dripped from her nose and chin staining her clothing. Putting a hand through her hair it came back stained red. She frowned, she couldn't actually remember anything between her shoulder hitting the tree and her waking up on the ground.

She kept her head tilted slightly down to keep the blood out of her eyes. She could see two slightly blurry figures ahead which she presumed to be Dosu and Zaku.

"Oh will you shut your trap Zaku, you'd do the same in my position, don't deny it," Dosu irritably snapped having quickly grown tired of Zaku's complaining. "Oh fuck you Do… How the fuck is she standing!?" Zaku said in bafflement.

Meshikamaru couldn't hear them, the pain from her shoulder still drowned everything out, she had to deal with it now. Gently grasping her right arm by the wrist she slowly pulled it out straight in front of her. The grimace of her face worsened parallel to the pain and after seconds of building agony, she heard a 'pop'.

Dosu had turned to see the Nara was indeed still standing and she looked an absolute state. He and Zaku both just watched in silence as she put her shoulder back in its socket, both wincing a little at the sound. The cut on her head must have been deep and wide because her face was covered in blood, the drops that didn't catch in her clothing left a trail on the compact dirt. She gingerly held her right arm close to her body and she walking with a slight limp. She didn't even seem to have noticed the senbon buried in her leg just above the ankle.

But through all that he couldn't miss her bloodshot eyes burning with a steely determination.

"You're made of tough stuff I'll give you that but why? Why do you get up?"  
"Because you'll kill Sasuke if I don't," she said in a weak but fierce voice. Putting her shoulder back in place had allowed her other senses to return. Her ears still rung a little, her eyesight slightly blurred, the metallic taste in her mouth.

"But I watched the three of you, you seemed to get along about as well as me, Zaku and Kin." Dosu genuinely couldn't wrap his head around the concept of fighting for someone else. Meshikamaru spat a mouthful of blood and saliva on the ground in disgust. "Yes, you're right, I don't like him. In fact, I actively dislike him, he's arrogant, stubborn and wholly self-serving. But it doesn't matter because he's my fucking teammate."

She bared her blood-stained teeth with a snarl. "And that's what Konoha is, no I, no Me, only Us, only We. And whether I like it or not, Sasuke is my teammate, Sasuke is…" her voice trailed off

Dosu and Zaku were facing her, and now stood behind them was Sasuke.

* * *

End Chapter


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